Destiny's Punishment
by Merielle
Summary: When you realize your destiny, you accept it. But there's always a catch. Because of my destiny, I lost the only one who ever cared for me... (PG13 for safety)
1. Prolouge

Me: Hi everyone! Wow, this is my first ever KH fanfic. So please don't kill me if it's horrible.

Ken: otherwise she'll come after us next… (sweatdrop)

Me: The story was just something that came to my head while I was daydreaming. It sounded so cool that I just had to put the story on ! Oh, and now for the disclaimer…

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts and anything else from Disney and Square-Enix. If she did, we would all be in chaos right now.

Me: Enjoy the story!

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Prologue

_My life isn't normal. It never has been normal…_

A young boy about the age of fourteen stood on a platform. Everything around him was surrounded by darkness. The only thing visible was a large white door behind him.

_Every day is a battle for me…_

The boy looked up from the ground, silver bangs nearly covering his blue eyes. If one looked closely enough, you could see deep black streaks in his short white hair. He was wearing baggy black pants and a white shirt with a strange symbol on it. His black trench coat swayed slightly in the silent wind. On his right hand, he wore a black glove with a white symbol written on it. On his left hand, he wore a similar white glove with the same symbol written in black.

The boy walked forward, the footsteps of his gray boots echoing in the dark abyss. He eyes scanned the area, as though waiting for something. Seconds later, a group of shadows appeared before him. The boy raised him arm and a weapon appeared in his hand. The weapon looked similar to a key…

_Every day I have to risk my life…_

The boy didn't make any movement. He just stood there, his eyes fixed upon the shadows. Finally, one shadow leaped at him and the others followed suit. The boy side-stepped its attack and sliced through the shadow with ease as it dissipated. He turned around, slashing through the other shadows. Without stopping to catch his breath, he jumped back and threw the key-shaped weapon at them. The weapon sliced through the last remaining shadows like a boomerang and flew back into the boy's hand. The creatures dissipated, leaving nothing left but black blood on the ground. The boy sighed and dismissed his weapon, turning around to look at the large door. His eyes narrowed, anger burning inside him as he remembered memories of the past.

… _all because of a door._

* * *

The boy was standing in front of the door once more. It was the exact same scene, but the boy looked four years younger. He had just finished off another group of shadows, when suddenly a clapping was heard.

"Well done. You're getting really strong. For a ten-year-old, that is." A figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a boy about two years older than him. Unlike the silver-haired boy, he had jet black hair, but wore the same hooded trench coat as the other. His coat was zipped all the way up, but his black pants and boots were visible from underneath the coat.

The younger boy looked at him and smirked, saying,

"At least I don't watch from the sidelines."

The other boy chose to ignore this and sighed as his ice blue eyes looked back at him,

"How much longer do you reckon we have to stay here?"

The silver-haired boy just crossed his arms behind his head,

"Who knows…? At least I have you to keep me company, Kotoro."

Kotoro just smiled as he ruffled the younger one's hair,

"Hey, what're big brothers for, Kaitsu?"

They both laughed together, but suddenly stopped as they saw a shadow appear in front of them. But strangely, this one was white. The two boys looked curiously at it. Neither of them had seen a white one before.

_When you realize your destiny, you accept it…_

The younger boy smirked as he summoned his key-shaped weapon once more,

"Don't worry. What's the difference if it's white or black? I can handle it."

Kaitsu charged towards the white creature to strike, but his weapon deflected right off of the creature.

"What the…"

_But there's always a catch…_

He didn't have enough time to finish as the creature knocked him down and bit his arm. The boy yelped in pain, trying to pry to creature off of him. Kotoro charged and tackled the creature off of him. The creature jumped back and, with lightning speed, leaped at the older boy.

"Kotoro! No!!" Kaitsu jumped up and slammed the flat end of his weapon into the creature's stomach, sending it back a few feet. Suddenly he felt a piercing pain shoot through his arm and he grunted, trying to ignore it. Kotoro's eyes widened as he saw the bleeding on his sibling's arm. He looked back at the white creature as it regained itself.

"This creature's too strong for you, Kaitsu. Leave this to me."

_Because of my destiny…_

The younger boy's eyes widened,

"What! It'll kill you! We don't have any chance against something like that!"

Kotoro gave him a stern look and pushed him off,

"You're too injured to fight. Just go and find a place to hide while I hold it off!"

…_I lost the only one who ever cared for me…_

Kaitsu hesitated for a second, but ran off and hid in between a group of large boulders. He managed to find an opening to see the battle.

'_Please don't let him get hurt… Please...'_

He watched as the creature leapt at Kotoro once more, but he drew out a small dagger and threw it at the white menace. It hit the mark, but the creature pulled out the dagger, not affected by it. Kaitsu's eyes widened as they creature knocked Kotoro down and began clawing at him furiously. Kotoro screamed in pain as the creature bore its claws into his chest and tore out a crystal heart…

_And it's all because of a door…_

* * *

He continued glaring at the door, trying to forget the painful memory that haunted him every day. His eyes narrowed as he sensed a presence behind him. He turned around and looked down at the small shadow that had appeared. But instead of attacking it, he just smiled faintly.

"It's you…"

He crouched down in front of the shadow and began to pet its head. The shadow nuzzled against the hand happily. He picked up the shadow and stood up, holding it close to his chest.

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of this place…"

The shadow looked up at him, tilting its head in confusion. He just smiled sadly at the shadow.

"It's because of this place that you became like this…"

The shadow lowered its head, antennas drooping slightly. He just petted it on the head again.

"It's not your fault… It's mine."

The shadow looked at him with what looked like sympathy. He set the shadow down on the ground and sat down at the door, his back leaning against it. The shadow sat down next to him and watched him as he summoned his weapon to his hand, examining it closely.

It looked like a cross between a large key and a sword. The hilt was black and had diamonds embedded in it, while the blade was pure white and had black shards embedded in it. At the top, there was an orb filled with shades of black and white. At the end of the hilt was a keychain with the same symbol on his shirt and gloves. It was a heart that had a grey line cutting through it. One side of the hearts was jet black, and the other side was pure white.

"…The Keyblade," he smiled sadly, "Who knew this thing would cause so much trouble…?"

The shadow nuzzled against him and purred slightly. He petted it once more as the Keyblade disappeared from his hand. He sighed, feeling the deep pang of guilt he has been carrying for many years.

"It's not easy…" he said, "Being the Keeper of Kingdom Hearts." He picked up the shadow and held it close to his chest.

"I'm sorry… Kotoro…"

* * *

Me: Well, that's it for the prologue! What do you think? Good, bad, extremely horrible? Please review and tell me what you think!

Ken: Otherwise she'll stalk you until you do.

Me: That's all for now. I might have the second chapter up by tomorrow. Sayonara!

Merielle


	2. Escape

Me: Yay! Next chapter's up!

Ken: (waves flag)

Kaitsu: You better not kill me in this story…

Me: Of course not! But you will meet—gah! I better not ruin it for the readers! Oh, and before I forget, here's a reply to the reviews!

**Risako**- I'm glad to see you like the story. And as for the Kingdom Hearts characters… well, you'll have to read to know.

**Sai-ryo Aura Feana**- Don't worry, I won't let the story go to waste or be left in a corner forever…. I hope. ;

Takari: Once again… Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. If she did, she wouldn't waste her time of this fanfic. Now read!

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 1—Escape

_Darkness…_

_Silent… empty… darkness…_

He was walking through an endless path. He couldn't even see where he was going. He tried shouting, but the only reply was his own echo.

"Is anyone here…?"

He looked behind him and noticed that the shadow following him was gone.

'_Great. He just had to leave at the worst possible time…_'

He sighed and continued walking, reminding himself to punish the shadow for leaving him alone in here. Suddenly he felt the floor give way and he found himself falling down the endless abyss. The last thing he saw was a pair of deep red eyes glare at him through the darkness…

* * *

"Hey, you guys! I think I see something!" The brunette pointed towards the shore of the island. His two friends, a red-haired girl and a silver-haired boy turned to see the figure their friend was pointing to. The girl looked out, but could only make out a huddled up figure.

"What do you think it is?"

The brunette squinted, trying to get a better look,

"It looks like a seal..."

The silver-haired boy narrowed his eyes at the figure, not at all finding this amusing,

"It's a kid…"

"What!?"

All three of them climbed down from the tree house and ran towards the figure. As they got closer, they could see a boy lying on the sand. The three teens stood around him, examining him closely.

"Wow, you were right Riku!"

The silver-haired boy looked at the brunette and smirked,

"And _you_ thought it was a seal…"

The girl crouched down and held his wrist,

"He's just unconscious, but he has a high fever. We should get him to bed and give him some medicine." She looked towards the other two and noticed they were staring. "..What?"

"Since when have you been a doctor?" exclaimed the brunette. The red head just sighed impatiently,

"Never mind that! We have to help this boy!"

The other two nodded and they carried the boy to the brunette's house. They managed to find the bed through the complete mess the brunette called his room.

"Geez, Sora, you really need to clean your room," exclaimed the red-haired girl, stepping over what looked like a cross between last week's lunch and a dead mutated rat.

"Well, your room is worse than mine, Kairi!" said Sora, wincing as he remember the pink room of doom. Kairi glared at him.

"Just because it was pink?"

"Well… yeah, pretty much that." Sora grinned. Meanwhile, Riku had already tucked the boy into the bed and got a wet towel for his forehead. The other two began to examine the boy closely. He had white hair with black streaks, a black trench coat, black baggy pants, and a grey shirt. His face had beads of sweat on it as he breathed shallowly.

"…Do you think he's from another world?" asked Sora. He knew that nobody on the island really liked to talk about what happened a year ago, but he knew his friends wouldn't mind it. Riku shrugged,

"Who knows? He could be from any world…" It was then that he noticed the symbol on the boy's shirt. It was a heart divided in two. One side was black, while the other side was pure white. Riku narrowed his eyes, remembering a symbol that looked exactly like this one. The symbol of the Heartless.

Sora and Kairi noticed the symbol also. Kairi scooted back a bit, a hint of fear in her voice,

"Do you think he's with…?"

"Probably," said Riku, ignoring their pale looks. "We won't know until he wakes up." The three of them moved on into the living room, deciding to pass the time away with video games while waiting for the boy to wake up.

Soon the sun began setting outside, and the moonlight began shining in through the windows. The three were sitting in the living, tired of playing games. Sora was sprawled out on the couch, looking up at the ceiling,

"…What if that boy is with _them_?"

Riku shrugged, sitting down by the couch,

"If he is, we'll have to be prepared."

Kairi gasped, remembering the events of the past year,

"You don't think _it's_ starting again, do you?"

The other two remained silent. The brunette looked towards the clock; it was near 11:30. He yawned tiredly,

"It's getting late. Let's get some sleep." Luckily, Sora had extra sleeping bags for Riku and Kairi. Soon the three of them were sleeping peacefully on the floor of the living room, unaware of the poor boy's nightmares in the other room.

* * *

_He was running as fast as he could. It seemed as though the pathway to the door would never end. He looked behind him, running faster as the shadows chasing him began to multiply. Suddenly he saw a figure standing in front of a door. He stopped, looking at the person in surprise._

"…_K-Kotoro?"_

_The older boy turned around, his eyes blank and his voice empty of emotion,_

"_Kaitsu…"_

_He watched in horror as his brother was being engulfed by darkness. He tried to run to him, but he couldn't move. Kotoro's eyes suddenly glowed a bright yellow instead of the peaceful blue it once been. _

"_It's all your fault, Kaitsu…"_

_Kaitsu tried to shout out to him, but no words came out of his mouth. He just stood there as the darkness completely engulfed Kotoro. He could feel the shadows surrounding himself too, until everything was in darkness. All he could see were Kotoro's piercing yellow eyes …_

* * *

Sora jumped up at the sound of the thunder outside. He looked through the window and noticed it was raining. As he looked outside, he heard a voice coming from his room. He stood up and walked into his room, finding the boy tossing around in bed.

"No…" The boy mumbled in his sleep. Sora realized he was probably having a bad dream and moved closer to the bed.

"Don't…go…" he muttered. Sora watched curiously. '_I wonder what he's dreaming about._' The boy continued mumbling in his sleep, a pained expression on his face. Suddenly his arm shot up and tried to grab at Sora, and for a split-second, the boy's eyes were wide open and he was screaming. But the most frightening part was that his eyes were a bright yellow.

Sora jumped back at this and almost knocked down the lamp desk in the process. He got back up and looked at the boy. His arm was now hanging limply off of the bed, a calm expression now on his face. For a second, it seemed as though the entire thing never happened. But that one moment where Sora saw the boy's eyes…

Sora shook his head, trying to forget what had just happened. He walked back to his sleeping bag and lied down on it, closing his eyes as he listened to the sound of the rain outside before he drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Hey, get up you lazy bum!"

Sora opened his eyes and looked around with a yawn. He saw Riku and Kairi standing beside him and smiled,

"I overslept, didn't I?"

Kairi nodded as she pointed to the clock, which said 12 o' clock noon. Sora yawned and pulled the covers over him again,

"It's still early. Good night…"

"Come on, Sora, get up," said Riku pulling the blanket off Sora. Sora groaned and finally gave up his attempt to sleep.

"Fine… I'm awake."

The truth was, Sora couldn't sleep last night after what had happened. He couldn't even tell whether it was real or not. '_And those eyes…_' Sora inwardly shuddered as he thought about it. '_Maybe I should tell Riku and Kairi…_' But he began thinking of what might happen if he did, so he decided not to tell.

After a few minutes of Riku and Kairi pulling Sora out of bed and Sora nearly eating everything in the refrigerator, the three went to Sora's room to check on the boy. For some strange reason, Sora felt as though the atmosphere of his room dropped a few degrees.

"Is it just me, or is it really cold in here?" said Riku.

"I feel cold too," said Kairi, rubbing her hands together to stay warm. Suddenly a groan was heard from the boy.

"I think he's waking up!" whispered Kairi as the three approached the bed. Sora hesitated as he stood behind Riku and Kairi, remembering what happened last time he approached the boy.

The boy opened his eyes slowly, revealing a pair of ice blue eyes. Sora felt relieved at this. '_So it was just a dream…_' The boy looked around the room for a second, then suddenly his eyes widened as he realized where he was. Before any of them could react, the boy jumped out of bed and started looking around madly. '_He's fast!_' thought Sora as he stared at the now empty bed.

"W-where am I? Who are you?" He looked at the three alertly. He looked like he was on the edge of panicking.

"I'm Sora," said Sora. "And this is Riku and Kairi. And you're on Destiny Islands." The boy's eyesnarrowed slightly at this.

'_Destiny Islands? But…I haven't left my home for years…_' Suddenly he remembered walking through the darkness and falling through the abyss. '_That's right… I must've escaped…_'

"So, what's your name?" asked Sora. The boy looked at them warily. '_Should I trust them…?_' His eyes darted from Sora to Kairi and then Riku. Sora and Kairi were trustworthy, but there was something about Riku that he didn't like. Finally, the boy decided that he could trust them. '_After all… what's the worst that could happen?_' He smiled,

"My name's Kaitsu."

* * *

Me: well? What do you think? Hehe, Kaitsu meets the Kingdom Hearts characters! I bet you're wondering about that "Kaitsu-screaming-and-glowy-eye" thing.

Kaitsu: you twisted little person…

Me: oh, stop being so negative! You'll have a good time on Destiny Islands …that is, until the evil chaos begins… (grin)

Kaitsu: oh dear…

Me: hehehe… Anywho, read and review!

**Merielle**


	3. Nightmares and Suspicions

Me: Chapter 2's up!

Kaitsu: yay…

Me: anywho, a little surprise in this chapter! Well, it's a surprise for mostly Riku since he saw it. XD

Kaitsu: what're you gona do? o.o;

Me: ehehe.. you'll see… (grin)

Kaitsu: you're still a twisted person…

Me: thanks!

Kaitsu: --;

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. All she owns is a crazy imagination.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 2—Nightmares and Suspicions

A day has already passed on the island. Kaitsu got along pretty well with Sora and Kairi. As for Riku, they weren't really on friendly terms. Neither of them trusted each other, and kept a good distance. It was difficult for them to get Kaitsu to talk at first, but soon he was talking freely with them. But for some reason, Riku felt like he was hiding something.

Now they were sitting at the Paopu Islands. They had just given Kaitsu a tour of the islands and decided to take a rest on the island. Riku decided that now was a good time to ask.

"You never told us what world you come from, Kaitsu," said Riku, noticing Kaitsu flinch. '_Uh-oh…What should I tell them? They can't know the truth!_' he thought, trying to figure out a way to explain it.

"Well…um…it's complicated to explain," muttered Kaitsu. An idea came to his head. "Actually, I don't think I really did have a home." It did sound a little bit suspicious, but at least they won't know.

"What?" asked Sora, "How could you not have a home?"

"Um…you know what? It's getting late. I should go to bed." He quickly got up and walked off. Sora looked confused for a second.

"But it's only six o' clock…"

* * *

Kaitsu continued walking; soon coming upon the cave they called the Secret Place. He walked in and looked towards the door. '_Well…If anything does happen, I can always use this door…_' He knew what was behind the door... The heart of the world. He put his hand against it, feeling a small vibration in it. If he ever needed to leave, all he could use was this door to get back. He frowned. '_Yeah right… Like I would ever want to go back to that place…_'

He sat down against the door and sighed, feeling a comforting warmth coming from the door. He continued to sit there, gazing into space, until his head slowly drooped and he drifted to sleep.

* * *

_It was that door again…Thatwhite, cursed door. Kaitsu glared angrily at it, as though waiting for it to explode or crumble. Suddenly the ground began shaking with a tremendous force. He looked behind him and saw a mass of shadows charging towards him. He ran towards the door, trying to pry it open. It was his only was out. But it wouldn't open; it was as though it was locked._

"_Kaitsu…"_

_He froze, looking behind him and seeing the same shadowy figure that haunted him every night…_

"…_Kotoro."_

_Kotoro stood there, glaring at Kaitsu, his eyes full of hate and anger. The shadows were standing behind him, not moving at all. Kotoro walked towards Kaitsu, still glaring at him as a dark aura surrounded him. Without warning, he grabbed Kaitsu by the throat and pushed him against the door, his eyes turning a bright yellow once more._

"_It's your fault I died…" he whispered menacingly. "You didn't care about me… You just sat there and watched me be killed!" His grip around Kaitsu's throat tightened, nearly choking him. Kaitsu tried to speak, but felt like he had lost his voice._

"_K-Kotoro…I--" He grunted as Kotoro's grip tightened even more._

"_You couldn't save your own brother!!" he shouted._

"_N-no…" Tears began forming in Kaitsu's eyes. He felt like he was going to die. He closed his eyes, the shadows leaping at them as everything began fading into darkness…_

* * *

'_Where could he be?_' thought Sora as he walked down the shore. Riku and Kairi had already gone to their houses to sleep, and put Sora in charge of Kaitsu. '_Where the heck is he?!_' Sora groaned. He had already checked the entire island, except for… '_The Secret Place! That's it!_' Sora ran towards the cave and walked in, seeing Kaitsu sleeping by the door. He sighed, finally relieved that he found him.

Sora walked towards Kaitsu…slowly. The last time Sora had approached him while he was sleeping, he ended up staying awake for the rest of the night from the shock. Once he reached him, he noticed Kaitsu had a pained expression on his face. 'Is he…crying?' Sora crouched down to take a closer look. Suddenly Kaitsu's head shot up, his eyes wide open, and his left arm shot directly in front of him, punching Sora straight in the face as he cried out,

"NO!!"

Kaitsu blinked and looked around him, and sighed to slow down his fast breathing. '_It was just a dream…_' He looked down and saw Sora lying on the floor, with a large bruise on his forehead.

…

"……Oops…"

* * *

"I'm really sorry, Sora!"

"It's no big deal." said Sora. They had reached Sora's house, after Kaitsu dragged him there and apologized so much that Sora lost count. He now had an ice pack covering his forehead, trying really hard to ignore the pain. '_He's strong…_'He wondered what Riku would think when he found out a boy younger than Soraknocked him out with one punch.

"I'm sorry!!" said Kaitsu again. He felt really sorry for punching Sora like that. But it wasn't really his fault. He was just having a bad dream…A _really_ bad dream.

"I forgive you already!" said Sora. "Anyway, we should get some sleep." Sora lied down on his bed and pulled the covers over him. Kaitsu stood there in the doorway for a few minutes, until he heard Sora's snores. He walked towards the bed slowly, trying not to make a sound. He looked at Sora's bruise, feeling guilty about what he'd done. He sighed, putting a finger on the bruise, and muttered,

"Cura…"

A green aura surrounded Kaitsu's hand and after a few seconds the aura faded away as the bruise disappeared. He sighed, walking out of the room. He lied down on the couch and closed his eyes, falling into deep slumber.

* * *

_Kaitsu was standing in the middle of a forest clearing. He was about the age of seven. He looked about, recognizing the place as his home._

_"Kaitsu!"_

_He turned around, seeing a boy two years older than him.Smiling,he ranhappily towards him,_

_"Kotoro!"_

_He hugged Kotoro, happy to see his brother. Suddenly, a rustling was heard among the bushes. Kotoro stepped in front of Kaitsu,_

_"Who's there?" The rustling stopped. "Stay here," said Kotoro. He walked towards the bushes, and looked inside them. After a few minutes, he got back up and turned to Kaitsu, smiling,_

_"It was nothing. I guess we were just hearing things."_

_Suddenly a tall, looming figure appeared behind Kotoro, holding a dagger above his head. Kaitsu's eyes widened as the hooded man clamped a hand over Kotoro's mouth and plunged the dagger through his heart._

_"KOTORO!!!"_

* * *

Thud.

"Ow…" muttered Kaitsu. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor next to the couch, realizing that he must have fallen off. He stood up shakily, the dream still taking its effect on him, and looked at the clock, 3:15 in the morning… He sat back on the couch, hugging his knees close to his chest. He refused to fall asleep after what he'd just seen.

* * *

The sun shone in through the window, interrupting Sora's peaceful sleep. He yawned and got up, rubbing his eyes, and looked at the mirror. His hair was messier than before, but that wasn't what he was looking at. His bruise was gone. Sora put a finger on where it had once been, feeling no pain at all. '_It must've healed._' He thought.

After trying to fix his gravity-defying hair and failing, Sora walked into the living room and saw Kaitsu sitting on the couch, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Morning, Kaitsu," said Sora. Kaitsu raised his head and looked up at Sora. There were deep shadows under his bloodshot eyes, and he looked really grumpy.

"What happened to you?" he asked. Kaitsu just muttered something incoherent and lowered his head again. Before Sora could ask, the doorbell rang. It was Riku.

"Hey Riku. Where's Kairi?"

"She's still at her house. She's probably sleeping," shrugged Riku.

"Come on in. I'll go make breakfast for you." He walked off towards the kitchen, but stopped and walked back. "By the way, Kaitsu's a little grumpy today, so don't annoy him."

"Yeah, whatever," muttered Riku. Sora grinned and ran off to make pancakes. Riku sat down on a chair opposite from Kaitsu, noticing the shadows under his eyes. He glared at Kaitsu, who glared back. Kaitsu looked a little scary with that look, but Riku would rather jump off a cliff thansay it out loud.

After a few minutes Sora came running in, flour covering the front of his shirt, ignoring the fact that Kaitsu and Riku were having a staring contest,

"Okay, breakfast's ready!"

Both of them got up and walked into the kitchen, Sora following them close behind. The three of them sat down and started eating, Kaitsu and Riku still glaring at each other while Sora tried to stuff as many pancakes as he could into his mouth. Kaitsu blinked at this (Riku won! XD) and looked at Sora worriedly,

"Does he usually eat like that?"

"Yeah, pretty much," said Riku. He was used to it by now. Sora managed to stuff all three pancakes into his mouth and, with a big gulp, swallowed it. Kaitsu's eyes widened as he wondered how in the world he could fit that much in his mouth, let alone swallow it. He sighed and got up,

"I'm not that hungry right now," muttered Kaitsu. He got up and walked out of the kitchen, the door closing behind him. Riku frowned,

"What's his problem?"

"I don't know. Well, he'll be fine soon. He just needs to get used to it here," said Sora. No matter what everyone else said about him, Riku didn't trust Kaitsu. There was something about him that wasn't normal. Riku got up, leaving the room also. Sora watched him leave, and then started eating Kaitsu and Riku's pancakes too.

* * *

Kaitsu was standing by the waterfall near the Secret Place, thinking about the nightmares he's recently been having. He couldn't even sleep because of them. '_I'm not going to sleep ever again… And I'm going to need a lot of coffee to do that…_' He frowned, trying to think of another way to stop having those nightmares. He blinked at the sound of footsteps, and saw Riku walking towards him. '_Great… It's him again…_'

Kaitsu said nothing but just glared at Riku, who glared right back. After a few moments of glaring, Riku spoke,

"You're hiding something from us, aren't you?"

"W-what?" said Kaitsu. '_He knows..._'

"Don'tact innocentwith me. Every time we ask you where you're from you distract us or walk off. Tell us the truth."

Kaitsu just glared at him, saying,

"I said I don't have a home. Now leave me alone." He walked past Riku, but he grabbed his wrist. "Let me go." Kaitsu balled his hands into fists, trying to stay calm.

"Not until you tell the truth!"

"Let… me… go!!" Kaitsu glared at Riku and hit him straight in the face, knocking him to the ground, and ran off. Before Riku had time to get up, Kaitsu was gone. Riku put a hand to his now bleeding nose, his eyes wide with confusion and fear. It wasn't Kaitsu's strength and the bleeding nose that were freaking him out. That moment when Kaitsu glared at Riku, his eyes were glowing a bright yellow…

* * *

Me: done! I might have the next one by tomorrow or the day after.

Kaitsu: you turned me into a Heartless!! O.O

Me: no I didn't! calm down! Sheesh… anywho,there's gona be a big surprise for the KH group in the next chapter! And as for Kaitsu's glowing eyes… well, you'll have to read to find out.

Kaitsu: I have a very bad feeling about this…

Me: Read and review!

**Merielle**


	4. Broken Trust

Me: hi everyone! Another chapter added!

Kaitsu: that's great to hear…

Me: anyway, I've got some good news and some bad news.

Everyone: (gasp)

Ken: bad news?

Me: I won't be able to update or write until Monday because of a family trip…

Everyone: aw…

Kaitsu: good news?

Me: I found a dollar bill! (grin)

Everyone(except me): (anime fall)

Kaitsu: that's it?!

Me: um…yeah, pretty much.

Ken: (mutter) psychos…every single one of them…

Takari: Merielle do not own Kingdom Hearts. She only owns Kaitsu. …And that just sounded really wrong.

Kaitsu: sick mind, Takari… sick mind…

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 3—Broken Trust

Kaitsu sat down in the small cave. After running around the islands for half an hour, he came across a small empty cave and decided to hide here. '_I'm not going back. They won't be my friends anymore if they find out…_' he frowned at this thought. '_Friends…? Since when have they been my friends?_' He shook the thought away, watching the sun set outside. How long has he been in there? He sighed again, ignoring the small growls coming from his stomach. He had never felt so tired and hungry before in his life…

'_So tired…_' He yawned, his eyes drooping slightly as his head began nodding. Suddenly he shot up and shook his head fiercely. '_No, I can't fall asleep! I don't want to see those nightmares again!!_' He yawned again, cursing at himself for feeling so sleepy. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. '_I wonder where he is right now…_' He smiled, thinking up an idea. He pulled out a small black device out of his pocket. It looked like a cross between a whistle and a flute. He blew into the mouthpiece, a soft note playing from it as he did.

He paused, looking about him. After a few seconds, he sighed, disappointed. '_I guess it didn't work…_' Suddenly he felt something cold brushing against his arm and he jumped, looking down. A small shadow Heartless was nuzzling against him. Kaitsu smiled, picking up the shadow and setting it down on his lap.

"I was starting to wonder where you went," muttered Kaitsu, idly petting the shadow. Usually, someone would think it's crazy to talk to a Heartless and pet it. But for Kaitsu, this was completely normal. The shadow looked at him, as though telling him something. Kaitsu nodded his head, as though confirming something.

The shadow jumped back and closed its eyes, darkness forming around it. Its shape began to change, forming into the shape of a human. After a few seconds, the darkness faded away, showing a human boy about the age of sixteen sitting there. He had jet black hair, pale white skin, and wore a black trench coat. At first glance, one would say he looked like a normal human boy, but if they looked closer, they would see small black claws on the boy's right hand and a small symbol on his left hand. He opened his eyes, revealing two bright yellow orbs.

"It's been a while since you've transformed," said Kaitsu. The other boy just yawned slightly and blinked a few times before his eyes could adjust.

"You should have called me sooner, Kaitsu. You had me wandering around in that place for days looking for you." He shot a glare at Kaitsu, who just smiled again.

"It wasn't my fault that there was a hole right underneath me," he said. He yawned again. The older boy looked at Kaitsu, noticing the shadows under his eyes.

"You look like a zombie. Why don't you get some rest?"

"I can't…" mumbled Kaitsu, lowering his head.

"Why not?" asked the boy. Kaitsu just remained silent. "…You're having nightmares again, aren't you?" No reply came. The older boy sighed. "It's all right. I'll just stay here." He smiled at Kaitsu, still receiving no reply, and then frowned.

"Kaitsu?" He looked down at the younger boy's face. He was asleep. The older boy just smirked and patted Kaitsu's head. "Good night, little bro." He closed his eyes, the darkness engulfing him once more as his shape changed back into a Heartless. The shadow jumped into Kaitsu's arms, nuzzling against his chest before falling asleep. Kaitsu smiled, opening his eyes slightly to see the shadow once more before falling asleep.

"…Good night, Kotoro…"

* * *

"_You'll always be my best friend, Kotoro."_

_Theten-year-old Kotoro looked up from his book. The two of them were sitting in a field of grass not far from their house. Kotoro smiled at the little eight-year-old,_

"_And you'll always be my best friend, too."_

"_Yeah, who cares about other people? No one ever liked me. You can be my only best friend!" He smiled, but frowned in confusion as Kotoro laughed._

"_Don't worry, Kaitsu. I know the people here don't like you, but I'm sure you'll find people someday who'll be your true friends."_

_Kaitsu grinned at this, happy at the thought of it,_

"_You really think so?"_

_Kotoro nodded, ruffling Kaitsu's hair,_

"_I'm positive."_

_Kaitsu smiled and looked up at Kotoro, the smile fading away as a shadowed figurestood behind them. All he saw next was a red blur and screams as the scene faded away…_

* * *

Kaitsu's eyes shot open, realizing that he was covered in cold sweat. He took a deep and sighed, looking about the cave. The shadow was gone. Kaitsu sighed, leaning his back against the cave wall.

'_I have to stay awake, no matter what._'

* * *

"I let you two take care of him for one day, and you let him disappear!"

Kairi was really angry. No, wait, she was furious. Sora and Riku now know what it's like to get on her bad side. It's been nearly an hour that Kairi's been yelling at them for letting Kaitsu get lost. Well, in Kairi's point of view they weren't taking good care of him and he ran away. In the two boy's point of view, they just scared him off.

"And you didn't even bother to go after him!" she shouted even louder, sounding like a mother scolding her child.

"But Kairi, he's too fast," said Sora.

'_And too strong…_' thought Riku. He had managed to heal his bleeding nose before the other two found out.

"Maybe we didn't search well enough…" Kairi sighed, her temper finally coming down. They had already searched the entire island.Unfortunately,they didn'tabout the cave Kaitsu was hiding in.

"Well, what if he went to his own world?" asked Sora.

"He should have at least said good-bye…" muttered Kairi.

"He didn't leave," said Riku. "He's hiding." The other two looked at him in confusion. Riku sighed,

"There's something I have to tell you about Kaitsu."

* * *

"This…is…annoying…" muttered Kaitsu. He's been sitting in that cave for two hours, but to him it seemed like an entire day. He frowned, hearing his stomach growl again. The shadows under his eyes had gotten deeper, giving him the look of someone who'd just risen from the dead.

'_I must not sleep… I must not sleep…_' He repeated the words over and over in his head. He yawned, hugging his knees to his chest, looking out at the ocean. Then his thoughts drifted back to the white door…

'_He's going to kill me for leaving that place…_' He thought. Suddenly a small portal formed behind him, and the same boy as before jumped in through the portal, holding a small bag.

"What time is it?" muttered Kaitsu, not at all surprised by the sudden entrance. The older boy yawned,

"I think near midnight. You know, those three kidsare reallyworried about you."

"Let them get worried. I don't care," scowled Kaitsu. The boy just sighed, sitting down and handing Kaitsu the bag.

"There's your dinner," said the older boy, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the wall. Kaitsu opened the bag, revealing a sandwich and some biscuits.

"Where'd you get these from?" asked Kaitsu.

The older boy just smirked, saying,

"I just had a visit to your friend's kitchen. They didn't even notice I was there."

Kaitsu's eyes widened,

"You stole this?!"

"Um…well…" The boy smiled sheepishly as Kaitsu glared at him. "It was the only place I could think of that had food."

"Tell me this, Kotoro. Did you lose half of your brain when you turned into Heartless?" remarked Kaitsu. Kotoro glared at him,

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Before Kaitsu could answer, a faint screech was heard throughout the cave. Kotoro cursed under his breath,

"Sorry Kaitsu, my time's up," he waved lightly before taking the shape of a Heartless once more. Kaitsu smiled faintly as the shadow sat on the ground, its yellow eyes watching Kaitsu as he ate. After eating the biscuits and half of the sandwich, Kaitsu left the rest for tomorrow, observing the waves of the ocean as his mind played back memories of the past.

---_4 years ago_---

"…_K-Kotoro?"_

_Kaitsu walked up to the lifeless body lying on the floor. There was a large hole in his chest, his eyes half-lidded and completely empty of life. Kaitsu fell on his knees, trying not to let the tears escape. He called his brother's name once more. Silence was all that answered him._

"_Kotoro… Please, no…" He held his brother's body, tears streaming down his cheeks. It was impossible to think that just minutes ago, he had witnessed his brother's death. He tensed as the sound of footsteps filled the empty abyss. Looking behind him, he saw a hooded man approach him. He was wearing a black trench coat, and the hood concealed his face._

"_Who are you?" asked Kaitsu. The man said nothing but walked towards him. Kaitsu stood up, summoning the Keyblade in his hand. The man stopped, raising his hand._

"_There is no need to fight."_

_Kaitsu hesitated, but dismissed his weapon as the man walked closer._

"_What do you want?"_

"_I have a proposition for you," said the man. Kaitsu looked at him warily,_

"_What kind?"_

_The man continued walking, and stopped about a foot from Kaitsu._

"_I can bring your brother back."_

_Kaitsu froze at this. "Y-you can?"_

"_But on one condition," said the man. He took out a small black orb and handed it to Kaitsu. "You must keep that with you. Tell no one about it, and protect it at all costs."_

"_What is it?" Kaitsu looked at it curiously. A small blue light was flickering from within the orb._

"_You are too young to understand what it's for. Once you are older, I shall tell you." The man began walking away, but stopped when Kaitsu cried out,_

"_Wait! You never told me… who are you?"_

_The hooded man looked back at him, disappearing as he said the words,_

"_I am… nobody."_

* * *

Kaitsu scowled with hatred at the memory. '_That lying bastard…_' He clenched his hands into fists, anger burning up inside him. He froze as the Heartless nuzzled against him. Kaitsu sighed, petting the shadow,

"Don't worry, Kotoro. I'll fix this mess. I promise…"

* * *

"WHAT?!" screamed Kairi. Riku had explained everything that happened during his encounter with Kaitsu, including the yellow eyes. After hearing this, Sora decided to tell them what he'd seen the night they found Kaitsu. Kairi was panicking, talking about "living with a Heartless" and other things they couldn't understand due to her fast talking.

"Do you really think he's a Heartless?" asked Sora.

"There's no such thing as a Heartless that's human. It's impossible. But the glowing eyes…" Riku was trying his best to make sense out of the situation. Then something clicked in Sora's mind.

"Wait… If he is a Heartless, why hasn't he attacked us? And wouldn't there be other Heartless too?" he asked. Kairi became silent at this thought. After a few minutes of silence, Sora spoke up,

"We have to find him."

"What? Why?" exclaimed Kairi.

"Even if he is a Heartless, we still have to find him. Who knows? He might not even be a Heartless…" he said. Riku still had doubts about this, but agreed to help them search for him. They decided that the next day, they would begin their search for Kaitsu and stop his evil Heartless plans.

Little did they know that the boy was sleeping peacefully in the cave without a care in the world,holding a small Heartless in his arms…

* * *

Me: done!

Kaitsu: …where's the big surprise?

Me: uh… well, I couldn't really put it in this chapter. It'll be in the next one!

Kaitsu: wait a minute… are you making this up as you go along?

Me: yep! It's my fast mind at work!

Kaitsu: … Be prepared for chaos, people…

Me: anyway, here's a reply to the reviews!

**TenchiKai**- I'm glad to see you like this fic. And yes, I am having fun with this. (grin)

**Risako**- yay! You reviewed again. Anywho, to fix the confusement… The place with the door is not Kaitsu's home. Besides, some of you people should know by now what the place with the door is… hehe. And yes, Kaitsu hit Riku and Sora. XD

Kaitsu: go me!

Me: anyway, I won't be able to update until Monday probably. Sorry everyone! Oh well, read and review!!

**Merielle**


	5. Discovery

Me: I'm back!

Everyone: yay!

Kaitsu: How was the family trip?

Me: It was horrible. The hotel service sucked and we were stuck in traffic for 5 hours…

Kaitsu: wow. That's bad.

Me: anywho, I'd like to thank my loyal reviewers: TenchiKai, Risako, and Sai-ryo Aura Feana! Thanks so much for reading my story! I'm glad you guys like it! Now, on with the story!

Takari: Once again… Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. I don't think anyone who writes on does.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 4—Discovery

"Kaitsu!" shouted Sora. He sighed, receiving no reply. It was morning, and they had started their search for Kaitsu. They had already searched half of the island, and were now searching the other side.

Sora shouted once more. Still no reply. He sighed, looking up at the sky. Suddenly something caught his eye. It was a cave, right next to the Paopu tree at the top of the cliffs. Sora narrowed his eyes, seeing a small figure in the cave.

"Kaitsu?" shouted Sora. The figure turned around, looking at him. Sora gasped, his eyes widening as his eyes met two bright yellow ones.

"Oh my god…" Before Sora could react, the figure had disappeared into the cave once more.

* * *

"Kaitsu! Wake up!" Kotoro shook Kaitsu, who woke with a start.

"What?" he muttered.

"Those kids are outside. They're looking for you."

"And why should I care?" Kaitsu was in a bad mood. Mostly because he was awake all night, and was finally having a peaceful sleep until Kotoro woke him up.

"Well…um…One of them saw me," muttered Kotoro. Kaitsu's eyes widened,

"What?!"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have even sat near the entrance…" Kotoro sighed as Kaitsu buried his face in his hands.

"I don't believe this…" he muttered. Suddenly a shout was heard from outside.

"Kaitsu, come out! We know you're in there!"

Kaitsu looked at Kotoro with a pleading look. Kotoro sighed,

"Look, I'm sure they won't hurt you. And if something does happen, you can always call me with the flute."

"Alright…" Kaitsu stood up, watching Kotoro wave good-bye before disappearing through a portal. Kaitsu sighed once more before walking towards the entrance.

* * *

"Are you sure you saw him, Sora?" asked Kairi.

"Well…not exactly. All I saw was two yellow eyes…" muttered Sora.

"It must have been him," said Riku. The watched as Kaitsu came walking out of the cave. At first glance, one would think he was half-dead. There were deep shadows under his blood-shot eyes, and his clothes were stained with dirt, while his hair was slightly messy. Kaitsu looked at the three and smiled innocently.

"Um… Hi guys."

Riku glared at him and scowled,

"That's it. I've had enough of your innocence act."

"What? What're you talking about?" said Kaitsu. But before he could react, Riku had grabbed him by the shirt collar and pinned him to the wall. Sora and Kairi were startled by this.

"Riku, put him down!" shouted Kairi.

"Not until he tells the truth," said Riku. Kaitsu struggled to escape, but it was no use.

"Let me go!" he shouted. Riku just glared at him, saying,

"Not until you answer our questions. And you better tell us the truth." Kaitsu just glared at him and stayed silent.

"First question, what world are you from?" asked Riku. Kaitsu made no reply. "Answer me!"

"…I come from Tamahiko. But the world was destroyed by the Heartless five years ago," muttered Kaitsu.

"Are you on the Heartless' side?" asked Sora.

"I'm on no one's side," said Kaitsu.

"Then why do your eyes glow like that?" said Sora.

"What…?" Kaitsu blinked. '_Since when have my eyes been glowing?_'

"Every time you wake up in the middle of a dream, you start screaming and your eyes glow yellow… like a Heartless."

Kaitsu blinked again. '_What in the world is he talking about? I've never seen my eyes glow yellow…_'

"I have no idea what you're talking about," muttered Kaitsu. Riku glared at him,

"Liar…"

"I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth!" shouted Kaitsu. He grunted as Riku's grip tightened,

"You're lying to us! You are with the Heartless, aren't you?"

"I'm not lying! I'm on no one's side! Just leave me alone!!" Kaitsu started struggling frantically, but Riku wouldn't let go.

"Let me go!!!" Kaitsu screamed, almost on the verge of going mad. It wasn't safe here anymore. He had to escape. He screamed, struggling harder, but Riku only gripped tighter. Sora and Kairi watched, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Heartless appeared between Riku and Kaitsu. Riku looked at its yellow eyes and jumped back, letting go of Kaitsu.

"What the hell?!" shouted Riku. The three stared at the Heartless in disbelief. It looked exactly like a regular shadow Heartless, except it had dark blue claws and had a small symbol on its chest. It was the exact same symbol on Kaitsu's shirt.

"So he _is_ with the Heartless!" exclaimed Riku. He summoned his sword, while Sora summoned the Keyblade. Kaitsu's eyes widened at the sight of Sora's weapon. '_That looks just like my weapon…_'

The Heartless stood in front of Kaitsu defensively and started hissing at Riku and Sora, who were prepared for battle. Sora charged at the Heartless and managed to strike it in the side. The Heartless stood back up; dodging Riku's hit, and kept its defensive stance in front of Kaitsu. Sora raised his Keyblade to strike the Heartless once more…

"No!"

Kaitsu jumped in front of the Heartless, blocking Sora's strike with his own weapon. Sora's eyes widened as Kaitsu threw him back with his Keyblade. '_He has the Keyblade too?!_' thought Sora. Riku stared at Kaitsu's Keyblade also. Kaitsu had a determined and alert look on his face as he took his fighting stance, saying,

"Leave the Heartless alone."

Riku chose to ignore this and leaped at Kaitsu, ready to strike, but his sword only met with air. Before he could react, Kaitsu appeared behind him and slashed at his back with lightning speed. Riku jumped back, staggering slightly from the hit.

Sora and Riku glared at Kaitsu. Kairi stood a few feet away, watching with fear and anxiety. Suddenly the Heartless leaped in front of Kaitsu, raising its arms out in defense. Sora and Riku charged at the Heartless, ready to strike it.

"No!!" shouted Kaitsu. He grabbed the Heartless, holding it close to his chest, and closed his eyes, muttering a chant quickly under his breath. Suddenly Riku and Sora were knocked back by an invisible barrier in front of Kaitsu.

"Kaitsu, what're you doing?! That's a Heartless!!" shouted Sora. Kaitsu just glared at him, muttering,

"He's my brother…"

* * *

Me: done!

Kaitsu: you made them harass me!!

Me: fear my power! Nyahaha…ha… anywho, there's the surprise. The KH cast found out about Kaitsu and his little Heartless brother.

Kaitsu: Please read the review replies while I beat Merielle to a pulp… (glare)

Me: uh-oh...

**Sai-ryo Aura Feana**- The evil chaos of darkness is beginning! Mwahaha... um, yeah… XD

**Risako**- I still haven't thought of a name for the Heartless flute…thing. Anywho, the flute's only for Kotoro and no other Heartless. And as for the black orb and where he got the flute… you'll have to read to find out. Hehe…

**TenchiKai**- I'll try to update as fast as I can.

**Ninja Mage**- Thanks for the advice! As for the joined words, it wasn't meant to do that. Must be a bug in the computer or something… (sigh) Oh, and I won't tell anyone about the shadow in your fanfic. Anywho, thanks so much for taking your time to read my fanfic!

Me: (running away from Kaitsu) GAH!!!

Kaitsu: (chasing me with Keyblade) GET BACK HERE YOU TWISTED GIRL!!!!

**Merielle**


	6. Explanation and Enigmas

Me: … (knocked out)

Kaitsu: um…Merielle was in a little accident today…

Takari: dude, you knocked her out cold with your freakin' Keyblade! That's not an accident!

Me: (wakes up) ow, my head… (sees Kaitsu) you!!!

Kaitsu: uh-oh…

Me: (summons staff) someone needs to be punished…

Ken: This scene is censored for extreme violence, cursing, blood, and evil rabid squirrels. We are sorry for the inconvenience. The end of the scene will be at the end of the story.

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts… How many times do I have to say it?!

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 5—Explanation and Enigmas

"Your…what?" muttered Sora.

"He's my brother," repeated Kaitsu. It took a minute for the words to sink in before they realized what he meant.

"So… that Heartless was once your brother?" asked Kairi. Kaitsu nodded.

"But how can that be?" muttered Riku. "When someone becomes a Heartless, they forget everything they once knew and only concentrate on stealing hearts. How can it remember you? And why isn't it attacking us?" Kaitsu sighed, deciding to tell them the truth.

"When my brother was killed, a hooded man decided to help me. He said he could bring my brother back to life. But…something went wrong…"

---_4 years ago_---

"_What… What did you do?"_

_Kaitsu looked at the bed where his dead brother once lay, now seeing a Heartless standing there. It had blue claws, and a small symbol engraved on its chest. The hooded man sighed,_

"_I should have told you sooner. During our search, we did manage to find your brother's heart, but only half of it."_

"_What?" Kaitsu glared at the man. "You said you would bring him back! You said you were going to find his heart, not half of it!"_

"_I'm sorry," muttered the man. "The other half was already destroyed by the Heartless." Kaitsu lowered his head as the man walked towards the Heartless. When Kaitsu looked back at the man, he was holding the Heartless in his arms._

"_W-What are you doing? It'll kill you!"_

"_Don't worry, it won't. It trusts us." The man petted the Heartless' head. Suddenly something occurred to Kaitsu._

"_Wait… You could only restore half of his heart? But…doesn't that mean…?"_

"_Your brother is now a half-Heartless," said the man as he placed the Heartless on the ground. The Heartless closed it eyes as it transformed into a boy near the age of twelve. The boy opened his eyes, revealing two bright yellow orbs instead of the calm blue it had once been._

"_K-Kotoro?" muttered Kaitsu. The boy looked at Kaitsu, then smiled,_

"_It's good to see you again, Kaitsu."_

* * *

"So… your brother's half-Heartless?" asked Sora. Kaitsu nodded, finishing his explanation about the event four years ago. Sora, Riku, and Kairi were completely confused.

"But, what about that Keyblade?" asked Sora, pointing to Kaitsu's Keyblade.

"I don't know how I got it. After my world was destroyed, I woke up in front of a white door with the Keyblade in my hand."

"Hold on, what white door?" asked Riku. Kaitsu stayed silent for a few minutes, then answered,

"The door to Kingdom Hearts…" muttered Kaitsu. The three froze at this. Riku narrowed his eyes at Kaitsu.

"So, you've been living in Kingdom Hearts for five years?"

"It wasn't really my choice," said Kaitsu. He knew he was saying too much, but it didn't matter anymore. "I was forced to stay and protect that door. At first, I thought it would be fun, having a Keyblade and protecting Kingdom Hearts… but it wasn't fun at all." Kaitsu paused. After receiving no answer, he continued,

"I grew sick and tired of the place, so I tried to escape by using the door. And now I ended up here…" He looked at the three.

"Wow… I never would have thought…" muttered Kairi.

"So…I guess there's two Keyblade Masters now," said Sora. Kaitsu stood up, still holding the Heartless.

"I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've caused. I should have never left. I should probably leave anyway…" Kaitsu turned around, walking a few steps before Sora called out,

"Wait!"

Kaitsu stopped and looked back at the three.

"Um… We're sorry about what we did. I guess we got a bit…carried away," said Sora. "Anyway...I guess you can stay here. This can be your new home."

Kaitsu stared at them. '_They_ want _me to stay? But…what if something happens…?_' He was snapped out of his thoughts as Riku spoke,

"Look…I'm sorry for what I did. I guess I was just being paranoid…" he muttered. Kaitsu continued to stare at them for a few minutes, then smiled,

"I forgive you."

The three smiled, relieved to have their friend back. Their troubles were finally over…or so they thought…

* * *

"Kaitsu…" No reply. "Kaitsu…?" Still no reply. "…Wake up already!" He groaned, still receiving no reply.

"Since when have you been a heavy sleeper, Kaitsu?" said Kotoro.

It's been five days since Kaitsu confessed the truth about him. Kaitsu was relieved to find out that they had been through the same thing as him. They had become friends once more, and even Riku was being nice to Kaitsu. After two days, they managed to build a small shack for Kaitsu to live in. Now Kaitsu was sleeping peacefully in his bed, having no nightmares at all. Too bad it was one o' clock in the afternoon…

"Wake up, dammit!" groaned Kotoro. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. He leaned forward and whispered in Kaitsu's ear,

"Kaitsu, the squirrels are coming…"

Kaitsu started stirring in his sleep, and mumbled,

"No…Go away…"

"They're hungry, Kaitsu…They want more peanuts…" whispered Kotoro, trying to hold back his laughter. Kaitsu had always been afraid of squirrels ever since he had been attacked by one of them when he was five.

"No…No more peanuts…" mumbled Kaitsu. Kotoro paused for a second, then shouted in his ear,

"The squirrels are coming!!!"

"NO!" Kaitsu shot up from his sleep, whacking Kotoro's head in the process. He blinked and looked down at Kotoro, who was laughing his head off. Kaitsu glared at him,

"You did the squirrel thing again, didn't you?"

Kotoro nodded, nearly hysterical from laughter,

"You should have seen…the look on your face!" Kotoro continued laughing. Before he could react, a pillow collided with his head, knocking him over.

"Ow…" muttered Kotoro, rubbing his head. He looked up and saw that Kaitsu was already gone. He sighed, shaking his head, "He can't even take a joke…"

* * *

"Stupid Kotoro…" muttered Kaitsu, sitting under the bridge leading to Paopu Island. He sighed, pulling out a grey orb from his pocket. '_I wonder why they gave me this…_' He quickly put the orb away as he heard footsteps approaching him. He stood up, looking behind him, and gasped,

"What…What are you doing here?"

A cloaked figure about Kaitsu's size stood before him. A frown was visible from underneath his hood,

"Why did you leave the door, Kaitsu?"

Kaitsu glared at the figure, saying,

"I got sick and tired of that place. Now tell me, what's your real reason for being here, Ken?"

The figure removed his hood, revealing a boy about fifteen with black hair, pale skin, and purple eyes. He had an annoyed look that showed he would rather be somewhere else than here.

"I have a message from Ronin," said Ken.

Kaitsu froze, his eyes narrowing at him,

"What does _he_ want?"

"He said, 'Beware of what side you choose. The fate of all worlds depends on your choice.'"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Kaitsu. Ken just shrugged,

"Don't ask me. I'm just delivering a message." He turned to walk off, but stopped when Kaitsu said,

"Wait! Can you please tell me what this is for?" Kaitsu pulled out the orb.

"Sorry. I can't," said Ken.

"Why not?" Kaitsu was getting annoyed by this. Why won't they just tell him?

"Because you're not ready yet. So stop asking questions and shut up," he scowled before disappearing. '_Wow. He's in a bad mood…_' thought Kaitsu. He turned around and saw Kotoro running up to him.

"Kaitsu, come on! The others are waiting on the other side of the island," said Kotoro. Kaitsu nodded, smiling, and ran off with Kotoro.

* * *

Four hooded figures were standing around a small platform in a dark room. On the platform was a large orb, showing Kaitsu running with Kotoro towards Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

"Do you think we should tell him…?" came a girl's voice.

"No," said another voice. "If we tell him now, it might result in utter chaos."

"Oh, stop being such a killjoy, Ken," said a third voice.

"Shut up, Ryu," growled Ken.

"Killjoy! Killjoy! Killjoy!" taunted Ryu.

"Why you little--"

"You two better shut up before I rip out your vocal cords!" said a fourth voice, who was obviously ticked off. Both boys became silent.

"…I still think we should tell him," said the girl.

"You're can be very annoying sometimes, Seika…" muttered the fourth voice.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Takari," said Seika. Takari just scowled and muttered several curses for no apparent reason before Ryu spoke up,

"Ronin said that he will be the one to tell him. Meanwhile, we're supposed to keep watch on him and make sure nothing happens to him."

"Just great… Now we have to baby sit a little kid," muttered Ken.

"You're still a killjoy," said Ryu.

"Shut up!"

"Enough already!" said a fifth voice. The four figures fell silent as a hooded man entered the room.

"I didn't give you four back your lives just to hear you bickering," said the man. The four lowered their heads and muttered apologies. The man looked at the orb showing Kaitsu.

"You four are to watch over him at all times. Make sure he doesn't get hurt. It is our duty to protect him at all costs. And if anything does happen to him…" He looked at the four sternly, "You will regret it."

The four nodded as the man left the room once more and went back to watching Kaitsu play with his friends happily, unaware of the dangers soon to befall him.

* * *

Kaitsu: (is tied up, hanging down from a tree branch, and bleeding badly) let me down!!

Me: Never! Mwahaha!

Ken: Hey! Why'd you put me and Takari in the story?

Me: Because I felt like it. Anywho, I bet you guys are wondering about the hooded people. No, they are NOT the Unknowns. They're…something else. Probably guardians…or something. I still haven't decided. Oh, and here's the review replies!

**TenchiKai**- I might put a cliffy on each chapter if this keeps up… XD

**Ninja Mage**- The glowing eyes will be explained later. And yes, Riku got very ticked. XD

Kaitsu: can you put me down now? (still hanging)

Merielle: Never!! Hahaha!

Kaitsu: twisted little psyco…

**Merielle**


	7. Invasion

Me: wow, two updates in one day!

Ken: that's fast…

Me: probably because I'm high on sugar and I'm happy about my fanfic.

Kaitsu: (still hanging from tree) can you please untie me now?

Me: never! Haha!

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. If she did, there would be rabid squirrels running around in the game…

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 6—Invasion

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Kaitsu as he walked off to the shack, waving good-bye to Sora, Riku, and Kairi, who were sailing back to the main island. He walked into the shack and lied down on the bed, tired from the day's activities. He had spent the entire day sparring with Sora and Riku…and won. Riku seemed a bit upset about losing to someone younger than him, but forgot about it when Sora lost the match too.

"Something on your mind?"

Kaitsu snapped out of his thoughts, seeing Kotoro hanging upside-down from a hook on the ceiling.

"Not really…" he muttered as Kotoro jumped down from the ceiling, landing with ease. He smirked,

"Okay, tell me what's bothering you," he said. He knew Kaitsu too well to think that nothing was bothering him.

"Ken gave me a message from Ronin today," muttered Kaitsu. Kotoro wasn't surprised by this at all.

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'Beware of what side you choose. The fate of all worlds depends on your choice'… What does that mean?" He looked at Kotoro, who narrowed his eyes before saying,

"I have no idea," he lied. He knew exactly what Ronin had meant. Too bad Kaitsu didn't understand it.

"I'm going outside…" muttered Kaitsu as he walked out of the shack. He looked up at the sky, and noticed a large black rain cloud hovering over the island. Kaitsu ignored it, and walked along the shoreline, silently thinking as rain began to fall.

* * *

The four hooded people were standing around the platform once more, watching the image of Kaitsu by the shore as it began raining.

"Is he insane?" asked Ryu. "He's just standing in the rain for no reason!"

"He shouldn't be outside," said Ken. "A storm's coming to that island."

"What's causing the storm?" asked Seika.

"Kaitsu isn't even aware of his own powers. This storm is being created by him," said Ken, ignoring the surprised looks on the others' faces. "Hopefully, the storm won't get out of hand."

* * *

Kaitsu sighed as he sat by the ocean, feeling the rain drops as they fell. He hadn't been in the rain for so long… He had almost forgotten what it felt like. Kaitsu's eyes widened as he heard thunder in the distance as lightning flashed through the sky. He got up, deciding it was best to go inside. But as he turned around, he saw several black shadows forming out of the sand. His eyes widened as he saw several yellow eyes fix upon him.

"Oh no…"

* * *

"Come on! We have to find Kaitsu!" shouted Sora through the thunders of the storm. The three had sailed back to the island because of the storm. They had reached Kaitsu's shack an hour ago, only to find it torn apart.

"He has to be here somewhere," said Sora, trying to see through the heavy rain. His eyes widened as he saw several shadows appearing, their yellow eyes fixed on a figure standing in the rain.

* * *

Kaitsu summoned his Keyblade and took his fighting stance as the Heartless formed a circle around him. A few of them leaped at him, only to be sliced in half before they could hit him. Kaitsu jumped back, throwing his Keyblade at the Heartless like a boomerang in a move called Strike Raid. As he caught his Keyblade he charged at the Heartless with lightning speed, slicing through them. He watched them disappear, but more continued to appear.

'_There's too many of them!_' Kaitsu's eyes widened as he realized he was cornered. Before any of the Heartless could attack him, a ball of fire shot out in front of them. Kaitsu looked behind the Heartless and saw Sora, Riku, and Kairi standing there, each holding a weapon.

"I hope we're not too late," remarked Sora as he began to attack the Heartless with his Keyblade. Riku swung at several Heartless with his sword, slicing them apart with ease, while Kairi began to shoot at the Heartless with her twin guns. Kaitsu smiled faintly, joining the battle also.

"It's no use! They just keep multiplying," shouted Riku. Kaitsu jumped back, pulling out a small, black flute, and blew into it. A portal opened behind him as Kotoro jumped out of it, his eyes widening at the sight of the Heartless,

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"It's an invasion! Now hurry and help us out here!" shouted Kaitsu as he slashed at five more Heartless. Kotoro nodded, extending right hand, the claws on his fingers grew sharper. He jumped at the Heartless, his claws slicing through them with ease. They continued to fight like this for a few minutes, when suddenly the ground began to shake. The Heartless stopped their attacks immediately and disappeared.

"What's going on?" yelled Kaitsu as he was almost knocked backwards by the wind. They all looked up and saw a large black portal in the sky. Their eyes widened as Kotoro muttered,

"They're destroying this world, too."

Kaitsu glared at the portal, and said,

"We have to go through it."

"What?" shouted Sora. "But what if it kills us?"

"We have no choice," muttered Kaitsu. They nodded and, reluctantly, climbed onto the Paopu Island. The portal was just a few feet above them as it began to suck in everything on the island.

"Okay…Ready?" muttered Kaitsu. "…Go!" At the same time, they all jumped through the portal. The last thing they saw was the island as it was being torn apart by the storm…

* * *

"Ow…My head…" muttered Kaitsu. He opened his eyes and looked around at the large garden. Behind the garden was a large castle. He stood up as the others began to awaken also.

"…Where are we?" muttered Sora, looking around at the garden. Suddenly they heard someone shouting behind them, and turned around to see…a duck and dog running up to them. '_And I thought _I_ was weird…_' thought Kaitsu. Sora's eyes widened as the two tackled him and pulled him into a hug.

"It's great to see ya again Sora, ayuck!" said the dog…person.

"Donald? Goofy? What're you two doing here? What is this place?" asked Sora, confused by the entire situation. The duck named Donald smiled and said,

"Welcome to Disney Castle!"

* * *

Me: Destiny Islands has been destroyed by the Heartless…again…and now our heroes are at Disney Castle! What dangers will befall them next?

Ken: great…more Disney freaks…

Kaitsu: (is _still_ tied up…and hanging) can you let me down _now_?

Me: never! Hahaha… anywho, this chapter was a bit short because I didn't have enough time to finish it. And besides, I wanted it to end on a cliffy. Hehe… here's a reply to the reviews!

**Ninja Mage**- Fear the Half-Heartless! …um, yeah XD Be prepared for even creepier…stuff. Hehe…

Me: that's all for now! I might have the next chapter by tomorrow! Ja ne!

**Merielle**


	8. The Legend

Me: Another updated chapter!

Takari: you're obsessed…

Kaitsu: (is still hanging…) This is getting really annoying…Can you please let me down now?

Me: oh fine… (unties him)

Kaitsu: freedom!!

Me: anywho, the plot will be growing from this point on. Now read!

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts, so don't sue us. And if you do, I'll rip out your intestines and organs, put them in a blender, and feed them to the Heartless.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 7—The Legend

"…Disney Castle?" asked Sora. Goofy nodded happily,

"Yeah! Wait until you see the inside!"

"And you have to see King Mickey!" said Donald, pulling Sora with him as they all ran towards the castle.

* * *

"This is bad…" muttered Ken, watching the image of Kaitsu running with the others to the castle. 

"They island was invaded by Heartless and destroyed, and all you can say is 'this is bad'?!" shouted Takari, who was…once again, ticked off.

"I didn't mean the Heartless. They were bound to show up sooner or later," said Ken. "They were supposed to appear at Traverse Town, but for some reason, they're at Disney Castle. And the worst part is Kaitsu's going to meet King Mickey…"

"What's so bad about meeting a mouse?" asked Seika.

"King Mickey knows about the Legend. He'll most likely tell Kaitsu…" said Ken.

"So what if he tells him? That'll save a lot of work for us!" said Ryu.

"I sure hope he'll take it well…" muttered Seika as they continued watching the images once more.

* * *

"Wow!" They all shouted in unison as they walked into the castle. 

"It's so huge…" muttered Kaitsu as he looked up at the brightly-lit ceiling. On the walls were painting and wall hangings with the Mickey Mouse symbol on them. Donald smiled at them,

"Pretty nice, isn't it?"

They all nodded, too surprised to say anything. Suddenly footsteps were heard throughout the silence, and everyone turned around to see a mouse wearing a trench coat walk up to them. (I couldn't think of a better outfit. Bear with me here…)

Donald and Goofy bowed, and the others followed suit, but failed miserably. King Mickey laughed lightly and said,

"There's no need to bow, you guys. I didn't really like the whole bowing thing anyway." He looked at Sora, Riku, and Kairi and smiled. "It's great to see you three again." His eyes narrowed slightly as they fell upon Kaitsu. "Who do we have here?"

"I-I'm Kaitsu, Your Majesty," muttered Kaitsu, a bit embarrassed about standing in front of a King.

"You can just call me Mickey," he said.

"Hey Mickey, guess what? Kaitsu has a Keyblade too! Show it to him, Kaitsu!" said Sora. Kaitsu nodded, summoning his Keyblade. Mickey's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Keyblade. '_Another Keyblade Master…So the Legend is finally coming true…_' he thought.

"So, what brought you here to Disney Castle?" asked Mickey.

"Well…the Heartless invaded our island and they destroyed it…again," said Riku. Mickey thought for a moment, then said,

"Since you kids have nowhere to stay, you can stay here!" said Mickey. The others smiled.

"Wow! You really mean it?" said Sora. Mickey nodded,

"Yep, you can stay in the extra rooms in the castle. Donald and Goofy will take you there."

"Follow us!" said Donald as he led the group upstairs to their rooms. Mickey stood there for a few minutes, watching them run off. He narrowed his eyes as he sensed another presence.

"Do you need something, Ronin?"

A hooded man walked out from the shadows of the halls. A light smile was visible from under his hood.

"I see you have met Kaitsu," he said. Mickey nodded. "You should tell him about the Legend. I think it's about time he knows."

"Do you think he'll be able to handle it?" asked Mickey as Ronin turned to leave.

"Only time will tell," said Ronin as he disappeared into the shadows once more.

* * *

"This place is like a hotel!" said Kaitsu as he sat on his bed. Each room had a large king-sized bed, a bathroom, and a balcony. Sora, Kairi, and Riku had their own separate rooms down the hall. 

"King Mickey is one lucky mouse…" muttered Kotoro as he looked about the room.

"I'm going to go take a look around," said Kaitsu as he stood up and walked out of the room.

He walked down the long corridor, examining the paintings as he went. None of them were very interesting, they were just historical pictures. He stopped, one of the paintings catching his eyes. It showed a person standing in the middle of the picture; he couldn't tell if it was a girl or boy because its face was shadowed. A line was crossing down through the middle of the painting, as though separating it in two. On one side of the painting, the background was black, while the person was white. The other side had a white background, on which the person was black.

Kaitsu looked closer at the picture, realizing there were small words carved into the frame. He ran his hand over the words, trying to read it,

"Mesferutas…kirrindo…oprendo…"

He blinked, reading it once more. The words were in a different language. For some reason, he felt as though he had seen the words before somewhere. He sighed and turned to walk back, when suddenly a faint whisper echoed in his mind,

_Teratos rikoto, oprendo os mundi…_

Kaitsu stopped walking. Where did that come from? He shook his head and continued walking. Suddenly a loud screeching was heard, the whispers echoing louder in his mind.

_Teratos rikoto, oprendo os mundi…_

Kaitsu fell on his knees, clutching his head in pain. The whispers grew louder as they continued to chant the same words again.

"No…Go away…" muttered Kaitsu. He felt like he was being torn apart as the whispers continued chanting. Everything started to fade away as he felt his strength being drained. The last thing he saw was a figure running towards him before he blacked out.

* * *

"That was…weird," said Seika as they watched Kaitsu pass out. 

"…It's _him_," muttered Ken. "_He's_ interfering again…"

"It seems we're not the only ones who want him to choose the correct path," said Takari

"W-What's _he_ going to do to Kaitsu?" said Seika, a hint of fear in her voice.

"_He'll_ do anything to get Kaitsu on his side," said Ken. "Probably even torture…or worse."

"Shouldn't we step in?" said Ryu. "We can't let that madman do this!"

"There's nothing we can do…for now," said Ken. "We'll come when the time is right."

* * *

"Kaitsu…? Are you alright?" 

Kaitsu opened his eyes and saw a blurred figure standing next to him. He blinked a few times before his eyes could adjust, and saw King Mickey standing there.

"What happened…?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I walking along when I saw you crying in pain, then you just passed out. Did something happen?" asked Mickey. Kaitsu sat up in the bed, his head still throbbing painfully.

"I don't know… I was looking at this weird painting, then I start hearing these whispers…and I have no idea what they were saying," muttered Kaitsu. Mickey narrowed his eyes in thought.

"What painting were you looking at?" he asked.

"Well…it had a person standing in the middle, and the background was black and white…and a line was cutting through the picture," said Kaitsu.

"I see…" muttered Mickey. "Well, you should get some rest." He turned and walked off.

"Wait! Can I…ask you something?" said Kaitsu. Mickey stopped and nodded at him. Kaitsu continued,

"In that painting…There were these weird words on the frame. I…I feel as though I've seen them before. Do you know what the words say?"

A long silence filled the room. Kaitsu lowered his head, scolding himself for asking such a random question. He looked back up when Mickey spoke,

"Those words are of an ancient language of a world called Tamahiko," said Mickey. Kaitsu's eyes widened. '_It's from my world?_'

"We have tried to translate the words, but only managed to decode three words on the frame. The words said, 'Light…Darkness…In Between…'"

"'In Between'…?" repeated Kaitsu, realizing that those were the three words he had read on the frame. Mickey nodded,

"Throughout the years, there have always been two sides…Light and Darkness. But some are beginning to think that there has always been a third power…One that is neither of Light nor Darkness…An In Between."

Kaitsu lowered his head in thought about this. Mickey sighed, and said,

"Kaitsu, would you like to hear an old Legend?"

* * *

"Oh no," said Seika. "The mouse is going to tell him!" 

"Don't worry. That'll make less work for us," said Ryu.

"Worry? Worry?! I'm not worrying! I'm just a little jumpy today!" said Seika. She was obviously lying.

"Riiiiight…" muttered Ryu.

"Be prepared, you three" said Ken. "I don't think he'll take it very well."

* * *

"Legend?" asked Kaitsu. Mickey nodded, 

"Its prophecy was told decades ago, and throughout the years, it became a legend. Some people wonder if the Legend will ever come true. Anyway, while I was exploring the world a few years ago, I found an old scroll in the ruins of Tamahiko. However, half of it was missing. This is what the legend said…

"'_A war between Light and Darkness will begin… Both sides seek someone…A person who is In Between… The path he chooses will affect the fate of all the worlds… The path he chooses will come at the cost of one's life..._'"

A heavy silence filled the room. Kaitsu played the legend again in his mind, trying to make sense of it. Mickey sighed, and said,

"That painting you saw…It refers to the Legend."

Kaitsu closed his eyes, picturing the painting once more. The person standing in the center looked very familiar…

"Who's the person in the picture and Legend?" asked Kaitsu.

Mickey looked at Kaitsu, breaking the silence as he said,

"The person…is you."

* * *

Me: The true story line is finally revealed! The plot is going to keep growing from here on. 

Kaitsu: you just love to torture me don't you?

Me: yep! I like torture!

Takari: here are the review replies…

**Ninja Mage**- Yesterday might be the only time I'll be able to update twice. I'm on break, and I have a lot of time. I'm not so sure what's going to happen when break is over and school starts again… (sweatdrop) Be prepared for creepy stuff! XD

**Kai**- Fear the squirrels!XD I'm not that good at humorous stuff…that's my friend's job. And as for the grammar…thank the spellchecker!

Me: that's all for now. Ja ne!

**Merielle**


	9. Stormy Emotions

Me: another update!

Kaitsu: (waves flag) yay…

Me: anyway, no ranting for today! Read and Review!

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. It's obvious by now, isn't it?

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 8—Stormy Emotions

"…Me?" Kaitsu's voice rang throughout the silence. It seemed as though time had completely stopped. It had taken about a minute for the words to sink in. _He_ was the person in the Legend? The fate of the worlds rested in _his_ choice?

"I'm sorry, but…I think you have the wrong person," said Kaitsu. Yeah, that's it. They probably mistook him for someone else. His hopes fell as Mickey shook his head,

"I'm afraid not. You are the chosen one," he said. Kaitsu couldn't believe a word he was saying.

"I already have enough responsibilities to deal with…" he muttered.

"I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be," said Mickey. Confusion and anger swept over Kaitsu. Why did _he_ have to be the chosen one? Why everything have to be his responsibility? Couldn't he just lead a normal life? Kaitsu stood up and walked past Mickey as he turned to him, and said sadly,

"Kaitsu, I--"

"Just leave me alone…" muttered Kaitsu as he slammed the door behind him and walked on. He blinked again, trying to stop the tears in his eyes from overflowing. Why did everything always happen to him…? His walking had now turned into a run as he left the castle. He just wanted to escape from it all.

He stopped after a while, and found himself in an open plain. He looked behind him, the castle a good distance away. He pulled out the orb in his pocket and looked at it, anger coursing throughout him. Why won't they just leave him alone? He let out a shout of frustration as he threw the orb to the ground and ran off. He didn't even notice the orb as its color slowly faded into a darker shade of grey…

* * *

"Poor kid…" murmured Seika as they watched Kaitsu run off into the fields. 

"I can't believe that little brat threw away the orb!" shouted Takari.

"Should we go now?" asked Ryu. Ken nodded,

"It's about time we should. Remember, keep a close eye on him and protect Kaitsu from _Him_ at all costs." And with that, the four of them disappeared through a portal.

* * *

"Hey, Mickey! Where's Kaitsu?" asked Sora, walking up to the mouse. Riku, Kairi, and Kotoro were following behind. 

"We searched most of the castle, but we can't find him," said Kairi. Mickey sighed, looking up at them,

"I supposed you four will need to know too…" And so he began to explain to them what he had explained to Kaitsu and what had happened…

* * *

'_I hate them…I hate them all…_' Kaitsu sat under tree, hugging his knees to his chest as he leaned his back against the trunk of the tree. He stared out at the field of grass, his mind being drowned in resentment, anger, and confusion. He sighed, closing his eyes, as he tried to calm himself. '_I wish I could just forget everything and escape from all of this…_' 

"Hello there…"

Kaitsu jumped, looking up to see a hooded figure standing before him.

"R-Ronin?"

The figure shook his head,

"I do not know this Ronin you speak of. Now tell me, what's a kid like you doing all alone out here?"

"My brother told me to never talk to strangers…" muttered Kaitsu as he stood up, glaring at the hooded figure.

"I'm not a stranger. We've met before," said the figure, a light smile visible from underneath the hood.

"I've never seen you before in my life," said Kaitsu. The figure chuckled lightly,

"You don't remember… I guess I'll have to show you." The figure moved his hood slightly, so that his eyes were visible from underneath the shadow. Kaitsu's eyes widened as he saw two bright red eyes staring back at him, a long-forgotten memory playing back in his mind…

* * *

"_Kaitsu, what's wrong?" An eight-year-old Kotoro looked towards the crying six-year-old. It was late at night, and Kaitsu had obviously had another nightmare._

"_There were monsters in my room…" sobbed Kaitsu. Kotoro smiled lightly, leading Kaitsu back to his room._

"_I don't see any monsters here," said Kotoro with a smirk. Kaitsu shook his head,_

"_No! There were monsters! They had big red and yellow eyes and they wanted my brains!" said Kaitsu, wiping the tears off his face._

"_Don't worry Kaitsu. The monsters are gone. And if they come back, I'll make them go away," said Kotoro as Kaitsu climbed back into his bed._

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise. Now go to sleep," said Kotoro, ruffling Kaitsu's hair as he walked out of the room. Kaitsu rolled on his side, looking at the darkness of his room, the moonlight from his window making it look sinister. Suddenly a small "thump" was heard. Kaitsu gasped, seeing something move,_

"_I-Is someone there…?"_

_Suddenly two red eyes were visible from the darkness as a whisper echoed throughout the room,_

"_Teratos rikoto, oprendo os mundi…"_

_The figure smiled at Kaitsu, its bright red eyes chilling Kaitsu to the bone, and disappeared as Kaitsu started screaming…_

* * *

"…It's you…" murmured Kaitsu. "You were those red eyes I saw…"

The figure nodded, walking up to Kaitsu. Hetook Kaitsu's hand, placing a small object in it.

"It's my orb…" muttered Kaitsu, noticing its now darker color. "How'd you find this?"

"It's not wise to leave your items lying around," said the figure, turning to walk away.

"Those words you said before…what do they mean?" asked Kaitsu. The words he had said were the exact same words Kaitsu had heard before he passed out near the painting. The figure didn't look back, but muttered the same words as he disappeared,

"_Teratos rikoto, oprendo os mundi…"_

'_Be prepared…It is beginning…_' Kaitsu blinked. '_Did I…just translate the words?_' He frowned in thought. What is beginning…? Be prepared for what…? He sighed, sitting down by the tree again. He closed his eyes in thought as small rain drops began to fall on the ground…

* * *

The figure walked along the field, a smirk visible from the shadow of the hood as a small drizzle began to fall. He stopped, sensing a presence with him. 

"…"

"You're interfering…" came a voice. The hooded man turned around, seeing four unknowns standing behind him. The one who spoke had short black hair and purple eyes (Ken); the second one had shoulder-length black hair and violet eyes (Takari); the third had spiky green hair and blue eyes (Ryu); and the last one had bright red hair and pink eyes (Seika).

"Well, what do you know…? The entire circus group showed up…" taunted the figure as his red eyes glared at them. "Why are you four here? Probably want to be killed again, don't you?"

"Why you little--" Takari moved forward but Ken extended his arm out in front of him.

"Someone needs anger management," mocked the figure. Takari twitched, muttering a curse under his breath as he tried to stand still.

"You shouldn't be here, Yasuko," said Ken.

"What? Now I can't even stand outside?" Yasuko said mockingly.

"You know what I mean. You're not allowed to go near Kaitsu," hissed Ken.

"I didn't hurt him now, did I?" said Yasuko, smirking as Ken glared daggers at him.

"You better stay away from him, otherwise you'll be sorry!" said Seika.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," mocked Yasuko. That was the final straw for Takari. He summoned a sword in his hands. It would have looked like a normal samurai sword had it not been for the hanging chain that was tied around the hilt. He charged towards Yasuko with lightning speed. Yasuko just smirked, raising his hand in front of him as an unseen forced knocked Takari backwards before he could even hit him.

"Damn you…" muttered Takari as he stood back up.

"Now, now, Takari, you shouldn't curse like that," mocked Yasuko. He looked towards the others, the sinister smirk still visible under his hood. "It's been wonderful chatting with you, but I must take my leave." He turned around, disappearing in a whirl of dark colors.

"I _really_ don't like that guy," murmured Ryu.

"We'll have to keep a close eye on him," said Ken. "Let's go." The others nodded as they disappeared once more.

* * *

"…I don't believe this," muttered Sora. It had taken about an hour for Mickey to explain everything to them. They were left in shock. 

"He must've run away again," said Riku.

"We should go look for him," said Kairi. Mickey shook his head,

"No, let him be. He's already upset and confused as it is."

"My brother just ran off, probably lost by now, and all you can do is just stand around?!" shouted Kotoro. "We have to go find him!"

"But, Mickey said we should stay here. Besides, it's starting to rain outside," said Sora, pointing outside as it was raining lightly. Kotoro glared at them and said,

"Fine. I'll find him myself." And with that, he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"We should go find them before anything happens," said Riku.

"Before you go, I have to tell you something," said Mickey. "Kaitsu might not have told you, but he has always carried a small orb with him. A man by the name of Ronin gave it to him. Ronin, like me, knew of the Legend as well. He gave Kaitsu the orb so he would be able to watch over his balance of light and darkness. The orbs color turns darker as it senses Kaitsu's negative energy, and becomes lighter with his positive energy. If the orb turns pure black, then he has chosen Darkness, and if it turns pure white, he has chosen Light. Be sure to keep an eye on this orb at all times."

The others nodded and ran out of the castle, their search now beginning.

* * *

'_It's so cold…_' thought Kaitsu as he hugged his knees to his chest, the rain now heavier than before. He looked towards the orb that lay next to him. It was a darker shade of grey than before. He sighed, putting it in his pocket as he looked up at the cloudy sky. 

'_Why…Why do they do this to me? What do they want…?_' He groaned in frustration, burying his face in his knees as he felt the rain falling on him like icicles. '_I wish I could just sit here and die… It would be much better than this horrible life…_'

"Kaitsu!"

Kaitsu's head shot up as he saw Kotoro running up to him. He was lucky he was wearing a trench coat; otherwise he would have been completely wet from the rain.

"I've been looking all over for you! Mickey told us everything--"

"Just leave me alone," muttered Kaitsu, burying his face in his knees again.

"Kaitsu, stopmoping around like this.You could handle the Keyblade and being Keeper of Kingdom Hearts. I'm sure you can take care of this too!"

"You don't know what it's like, Kotoro!" Kaitsu stood up, anger boiling inside him. "I'm sick and tired of it all!! All I want is a normal life with normal friends! No Keyblades, no Legends, nothing!! I just wish I could die and get away from all of it!"

"Kaitsu, listen to yourself! Stop talking like this; we have to go back to the castle--"

"WHY WON'T ALL OF YOU JUST LEAVE ME--"

Whack! A long, heavysilence filled the air. Kaitsu blinked, putting a hand on his cheek, feeling a tingling pain where Kotoro had just hit him. He looked up at Kotoro, who was glaring at him.

"You want me to leave you alone? Fine. I guess you don't need me anymore," said Kotoro, turning his back on Kaitsu.

"Kotoro, I--"

"Good-bye, Kaitsu," muttered Kotoro, looking back at Kaitsu one last time before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Kaitsu blinked, looking at the spot where Kotoro stood seconds ago. '_Was…Was he crying?_' Kaitsu lowered his head, letting his tears flow freely. Stifling a sob, he turned around and walked off, the castle still looming in the distance behind him.

* * *

Me: hmm…this is a bit depressing…And it's the longest I've written! 8 pages!! ...okay, so that's not really long… (sweatdrop) 

Seika: What dangers will happen to Kaitsu next? Will the KH gang ever find him? What happened to Kotoro? And what about those weird hooded people?

Me: All those questions will be answered in the next chapters. And as for the hooded people, I'm not going to name them Unknowns. They'll be…the Guardians!

Kaitsu: …Guardians?

Me: I couldn't think of a better name. Bear with me here. As for Yasuko…you'll learn more about him later.

Kaitsu: I really don't like where this story is heading…

Takari: And now for the review replies.

**Ninja Mage**- Breaks can be very annoying and boring when you don't have anything to do. Trust me, I've been there before..(sweatdrop) And I'm glad to see you knew it was Kaitsu. ..I think everybody knew. It was a bit obvious.

Me: That's all for now! I'll try to update as much as I can before break is over! Read and review!

**Merielle**


	10. Captured

Me: weee!! (runs around the room holding a box of sugar-infested chocolate)

Ken: …what the hell?

Kaitsu: Merielle's a little…out of it today.

Me: (starts talking about squirrels in trench coats and karate turtles)

Everyone(except me): …

Kaitsu: we should keep a good distance from her. (edges away slowly)

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. All she owns right now is a box of chocolate and her sugar-highness.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 9—Captured

How long has he been walking? Two hours? It didn't matter… Nothing mattered anymore. Kaitsu sighed as he continued walking in the field, the rain cold against his skin. He didn't care where he was going; in fact, he didn't care about anything anymore. As long as he was alone, it would be enough for him.

Kaitsu stopped, putting a hand on his cheek. He still couldn't believe his own brother had hit him. Oh well, he deserved it. '_It can't get any worse than this…_' He thought as he continued walking through the muddy fields.

* * *

The hooded boy stood on the cliff, his red eyes gleaming from under the shadow as they looked down at Kaitsu. A smirk was visible from under the hood as he summoned a Keyblade to his hand. It looked like the normal Keyblade, but was pure black, and had the Heartless symbol as a keychain.

"It's time…" he said; his smirk turning into a sinister smile as several Heartless appeared behind him. "You know what to do," he said to the shadows. "Now, let's have some fun, shall we?"

* * *

Kaitsu stopped as he heard a rustling in the grass. He looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. Suddenly a Heartless jumped out of the grass, raising its claws to attack. Kaitsu summoned is Keyblade and sliced through the Heartless. He froze as he saw hundreds of other Heartless appearing around him.

"Oh no…"

* * *

"Kaitsu!" shouted Sora. They had been searching for about an hour, but it was nearly impossible to see through the heavy rain.

"He couldn't have gotten far," said Riku.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Sora, but stopped when he saw the others staring behind him. Sora turned around, his eyes widening at what he saw.

Heartless…Hundreds of them. Lightning flashed through the sky, showing the figure who was standing in the center of the Heartless circle…

"Kaitsu!"

* * *

Kaitsu turned around, seeing the others standing a few feet away. Relief swept over him as the others joined to fight. But as they all began to fight, anger began to rise inside him again. He swung at another Heartless, killing it easily.

"There's too many!" shouted Sora as he sliced through another Heartless. Kaitsu pulled out his flute, blowing into it. They needed as much help as possible, and Kotoro would be able to fight too.

……But no one came. There was no portal or cloud of black smoke. Kaitsu blinked, blowing into the flute once more. Nothing happened. Kaitsu stared at the flute, Kotoro's words replaying in his mind.

'"_Fine. I guess you don't need me anymore…"_'

Had he really meant it?

Kaitsu was deep in his thoughts, unaware that the Heartless noticed he had dropped his guard. Before he could react, five Heartless knocked him down, clawing at him furiously. He tried to hold them back with his Keyblade, but they were too strong.

'_Why aren't the others coming to help me?_' he thought, feeling his anger rising even more. They didn't even care about him… '_Why am I even fighting for my life? I deserve to die…_' Kaitsu closed his eyes, waiting for the fatal blow…

But it never came. Kaitsu opened his eyes, seeing four hooded people standing before him. One of them was holding a sword that was stained with black blood.

"W-What are you guys doing here?" asked Kaitsu as he stood up.

"We're here to protect you Kaitsu," said Seika. "And there's no way we're letting some filthy Heartless kill you."

"Besides, we wanted to join the fight too," said Takari, a smile visible from under his hood.

"We'll take over from here. You and your friends should get as far away from the battle as possible," said Ken. Kaitsu and the others nodded and moved to the outskirts of the Heartless circle.

The unknowns stood in the center of the circled and summoned their weapons. Ken summoned a black staff in his hand; Ryu pulled out several small daggers; Takari summoned a katana; and Seika pulled out several small cards. The Heartless noticed this, and now leaped at their new targets.

"Fire!" cried Seika as she threw several cards at the Heartless. As soon as the cards made contact, the Heartless combusted in flames. Ryu jumped back, throwing a few daggers at nearby Heartless, killing them with ease. Takari began swinging at the Heartless, a slightly maniacal expression on his face as he sliced through them. Ken started casting spells at the shadows. The number of the Heartless began to dwindle down to only twenty. Suddenly, the remaining Heartless disappeared as the rain stopped.

"Well done. That was an excellent performance," said a cold voice behind Kaitsu. He turned around, seeing the same gleaming red eyes he had seen before.

"It's you," muttered Kaitsu.

"Kaitsu! Get away from him!" shouted Ken, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Are you really going to listen to him, Kaitsu?" said the unknown as Kaitsu took a small step back. "After all of the pain they had put you through… You deserve to forget about all of it, don't you?"

Kaitsu blinked at this. He was…right. Everything he was saying was right. Kaitsu tried to take another step back, but something inside him was telling him to stay.

The unknown smiled, noticing Kaitsu's eyes turn a darker blue. '_It's working…_'

"Why should you be with these people? All they have done is cause you pain. You deserve to be with people who would never hurt you…"

"Don't listen to him Kaitsu!" shouted Ken. His voice seemed so distant…

"You deserve better than this, don't you Kaitsu?" said the unknown. Kaitsu felt like he was being torn in two. One part was telling him to run. The other was telling him to stay. He didn't know which one to listen to.

"Come with me, Kaitsu. I can help you." The unknown laid his hand on Kaitsu's shoulder. Kaitsu winced, feeling thousands of cold needle piercing into his shoulder. Suddenly his mind went blank. He had no idea what was going on, but for some reason, he didn't care anymore. A sinister smile was visible from under the unknown's hood as Kaitsu's eyes became blank. Ken and Takari ran at the unknown, their weapons ready to strike, but were thrown back by an invisible barrier. The unknown smiled. It seemed as though nothing would be able to stop him…

"KAITSU!!!"

Kaitsu blinked, his senses coming back to him. He turned around and saw Kotoro standing behind the barrier, his eyes glaring at the unknown. Kaitsu smiled, a feeling of happiness growing inside him. The unknown scowled, noticing the light coming back to Kaitsu's eyes. There was no way he was going to let him escape. His eyes began glowing as several vines sprouted from the ground. Kaitsu's eyes widened as the vines tied themselves around Kaitsu like a rope. He fell on his knees, struggling against the vines, but they wouldn't break.

"GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!!!" screamed Kotoro as he leaped at the barrier, only to be thrown back once more. He got up and began clawing at the barrier, screaming curses at the unknown.

"Kotoro!" cried Kaitsu. He looked up, seeing the unknown standing behind him. Suddenly the unknown plunged his hand into Kaitsu's back. Kaitsu's eyes widened, shock and pain sweeping throughout his body. He could hear his friends calling out to him, but they sounded so distant…

"Darkness will have you Kaitsu…" hissed the unknown. "You can't escape it…"

And with that, they both disappeared in a swirl of dark colors as Kaitsu's vision blackened out…

* * *

Me: yes, I know it's short. But I just had to end it on a cliffy! XD

Kaitsu: what're you going to do to me?

Me: hehehe…you'll see. (evil grin)

Ken: aren't you supposed to be gone?

Kaitsu: oh yeah… (disappears)

Takari: And now for the review replies…

**NinjaMage**- The orb plays an important part in the story. Well…sort of.

**Kai**- Ansem's not in this story. He's dead. (laughs evilly) erm..yeah.. (sweatdrop) As for the language, I didn't give it a name yet. But it's also a bit important in the story too.

Me: that's all for now! Read and Review!

**Merielle**


	11. Light or Darkness?

Me: I'm happy today.

Ken: why?

Me: I finally got Star Ocean: Till The End of Time!

Ken: …does this have anything to do with the story?

Me: nope! Not at all!

Ken: …

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. The day she does is when the Heartless are replaced by mutated squirrels…

Me: warning! This chapter has torture! Well…a little bit.

Ken: …we'll be praying for poor little Kaitsu.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 10—Light or Darkness?

"K-Kaitsu…" muttered Kotoro. He fell on his knees, looking at the spot where his brother once was. '_I couldn't save him… He's gone…_' Kotoro lowered his head, a tear falling down his face. The other lowered their heads in defeat. None of them were able to save Kaitsu.

"I don't believe this…" muttered Ken. "We failed…"

"Ronin's going to kill us for this," said Ryu.

Kotoro stifled a sob, looking down at the ground. He blinked, seeing Kaitsu's orb on the ground. It was still a dark shade of grey… Kotoro's vision became blurred once more from his tears. He stood up and wiped them away as he put the orb in his pocket.

"We should go. It's no use wasting our time here," said Takari as the unknowns turned to a portal that appeared behind them.

"Wait, who are you four?" asked Sora. Ken looked back at the others before saying,

"We're the Guardians of Light. This won't be the last time we meet…" And with that, the guardians disappeared through the portal. The others stood in silence before Mickey spoke up,

"We'd better go back to the castle. Donald, Goofy," Mickey turned to the two, "I need you two to prepare a Gummi Ship for us as fast as you can once we get there."

"Yes, your majesty!" said Donald as they both took a head start towards the castle.

"Are you coming, Kotoro?" asked Sora. Kotoro shook his head.

"You guys go ahead. I'll catch up." He watched the others walk off until they disappeared in the distance. He pulled out the orb and looked at it before saying,

"Hang in there, Kaitsu. I'll save you… I promise."

* * *

"GUARDIANS!!!" 

The four froze immediately as the door to the room burst open, revealing a _very_ ticked off Ronin.

"Um…Hiya Ronin," said Ryu. He grinned sheepishly as Ronin glared at him, wanting to strangle him to death.

"You four failed your mission," he said. They were silent for a minute before Ken spoke,

"Please give us another chance--"

"I already gave you a chance! I resurrected you four so you would be able to protect him! But you weren't even able to keep watch on him!!"

"We're really sorry, Ronin," whimpered Seika. "Please…Just give us a second chance."

A dead silence filled the room. You could just drop a needle and hear it hit the ground in that silence.

"Alright," said Ronin. "I'll give you once more chance."

"Thank you!" cried Ryu and Seika.

"But…" He watched them as they fell silent. "If you fail this time, I'll lift the spell…And you'll have to return to your graves. But if you succeed, your lives will be free."

"Yes, sir," They all nodded in unison as Ronin left the room.

"…What do we do now?" asked Seika.

"Simple. We wait," said Ken.

"That's what we did before, and look where it got us," said Takari. "I say we find _him_ and rip him apart. First we tear off _his_ limbs…" Then he went into a very detailed and gruesome description that the others didn't like to hear.

"You always love the violence, don't you Takari?" said Seika.

"Let's set a stink bomb in his hideout!" said Ryu.

"…A stink bomb? What damage will that do?" asked Takari

"I dunno. It just sounded like a cool idea right now…"

"We'll wait. That's the plan," said Ken, ignoring their complaints. He pulled out a small orb from his pocket. The others stopped talking and looked at the orb in surprise.

"Isn't that a Balance Sphere?" asked Seika.

"But…Kaitsu's the only person who has a Balance Sphere. Is that his?" exclaimed Ryu.

"No," Ken shook his head. "This is another copy of the Balance Sphere. We can use this to monitor Kaitsu and see if he's okay. But for now, we'll wait and see what happens."

The other hesitated, but nodded in agreement. Ken placed the orb on the circular platform as they began to plan on what to do when they find the hideout…

* * *

_Pain…_

_Dull…Throbbing…Pain…_

Kaitsu opened his eyes, but all he saw was darkness. He ran his hands over the smooth marble surface of the floor. Slowly he sat up, feeling a stinging pain in his chest. Ignoring it, he looked around, still seeing nothing.

'_Where am I…?_' He coughed violently, throwing up a few drops of blood as the pain in his chest grew. '_What's…wrong with me?_' He put his hand to his chest, but tensed as he felt a warm liquid oozing onto his hand. He was bleeding.

"What the…" Suddenly a dim light filled the room as the torches on the wall lit up. Kaitsu looked up, seeing a hooded figure standing a few feet away from him.

"You're finally awake…" His voice echoed off of the walls. Kaitsu stood up, summoning his Keyblade to his hand. A small, cold laugh echoed throughout the room.

"Do you really think you're in the state to fight me?" he said. Kaitsu winced at the pain in his chest. He was right, there was no way he could fight him like this. But Kaitsu remained his ground, trying to hide his pain and fear from the unknown.

"…What do you want from me?" muttered Kaitsu. The unknown's red eyes locked with Kaitsu's blue eyes as he said,

"I am only here to guide you on the right path."

Kaitsu's hand clenched tighter on the handle of the Keyblade. "I'd rather die than join the darkness. I'm staying with the light."

He smirked as he noticed the unknown's expression change for a second. Maybe he really could escape from…whatever this place was.

"What has the light ever done for you?"

Kaitsu frowned. "What?"

"All your life the light has give you nothing but pain. It forced you to protect a door for five years, it killed your brother, and it has done many other things to you. But the darkness won't do that. It'll make you forget what pain even feels like. You can live your life to the fullest, and have no worry in the world. Don't you want that?"

Kaitsu gritted his teeth, anger boiling inside him. There was no way he was going to be sweet talked into joining the darkness. Not after what he went through…

"I'll never join the darkness. And there's nothing you can do about it."

"We'll see about that…" A black Keyblade appeared in the unknown's hand as he charged towards Kaitsu. Their Keyblades met as the sound of metal colliding echoed through the room. Kaitsu jumped back and charged at his foe but as he raised his Keyblade to strike, it disappeared. The unknown slashed his Keyblade across Kaitsu's chest.

'Wha…Where'd the Keyblade go…?' Kaitsu tried to get up. Before he could stand, the unknown sent a wave of dark energy at him. Kaitsu was thrown back a few feet and he struggled to get back up. His body was aching in pain. It was almost unbearable. He fell on his hands and knees and coughed up more blood as the unknown stood before him.

"Kaitsu, it's still not too late," said the unknown, his red eyes glaring down at him. "You can submit now, and be freed from the hours of pain you'll have to bear if you don't give up. Besides," he used the end of his Keyblade to raise Kaitsu's head to look at him, "you can't just resist the darkness forever. It's not like your friends will come and save you. They don't even care about you."

In one swift movement, Kaitsu's fist collided with the unknown's face, sending him backwards onto the marble floor.

"Don't you…ever say that. My friends will come. I just know it."

The unknown stood back up, his eyes flaming with anger as he looked at Kaitsu. Before Kaitsu knew it, the unknown had grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the wall. He knew this boy wasn't going to give up of his own free will. He might as well do it the hard way.

"Poor little Kaitsu…" hissed the unknown as he lightly swiped the Keyblade across Kaitsu's cheek, creating a new cut. "The clock is ticking away…And your friends still haven't arrived to save you…"

Kaitsu winced as the unknown slashed at his left arm. He bit his tongue and glared hatefully at the unknown. There was no way he would give up…

"Maybe they don't even care for you." The unknown slashed at Kaitsu once more. "They just see you as a useless little weapon."

"Shut up," said Kaitsu. "I'll never believe a bastard like you. I won't give up." The unknown's grip on Kaitsu's throat tightened, nearly suffocating him.

Suddenly chains sprouted from the wall and tied Kaitsu's hands and legs to the wall. The unknown let go of him and put his hand on Kaitsu's forehead causing ice cold pain to spread throughout his body.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make you join the darkness…"

The unknown plunged his Keyblade into Kaitsu's chest. He bit back the urge to scream as blood poured down his body. His vision began to blur and he felt the unknown's hand tighten on his forehead.

He pushed the Keyblade deeper into Kaitsu's chest and twisted it, forcing a scream to rise from the boy's mouth and echo throughout the room.

"…And this is only the beginning," said the unknown, a sinister smile visible from under his hood.

He pushed the Keyblade deeper and as soon as it touched Kaitsu's heart, his mind went blank.

* * *

Me: (laughs evilly) I am so evil!! 

Kaitsu: …ouch…

Ken: you just _love_ to end on cliffies, don't you?

Me: yep! This chapter was a bit tough because of the torture. Hehe, it's my first time writing a physical torture scene. There's going to be more torture in the next few chapters, but it's gona be mental torture.

Takari: Now for the review replies!

**Ninja Mage**- I don't know the plural of cliffies either… (sweatdrop) Poor Kaitsu…he's going to suffer so much. Especially in chapter—(covers mouth) Gah, I better keep it a secret! Hehe…

**The Keyblade Master**- yay! A new reader! I'm glad to see you like the story!

Me: That's all for now! Read and review! Oh, and Happy New Year everyone! (grin)

**Merielle**


	12. Choices and Decisions

Me: neee… (playing video games with hypnotized look)

Ken: what's wrong with her?

Takari: she's been playing Star Ocean and Kingdom Hearts for 10 hours straight…again.

Me: eheheheee….

Everyone: (edges away…slowly)

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. Period.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 11-Choices and Decisions

'_What…happened…?_'

Kaitsu opened his eyes, but there was nothing around him. All he could see was darkness.

'_Am I…falling?_'

He blinked slowly, realizing he was falling headfirst into an endless abyss. It seemed as though everything that happened before Kaitsu blacked out was just a nightmare. That's what he wished it was…

A small platform slowly came into his view. Kaitsu blinked, realizing that he was floating the entire time. He looked around as his feet touched the ground. Realization dawned upon his as he saw a large white door in the middle of the floating platform.

'_Is this…Kingdom Hearts?_'

"Kaitsu…"

Kaitsu turned around quickly and saw Kotoro standing a few feet away from him.

"Kotoro!" He ran towards Kotoro, relief and happiness sweeping over him. "Kotoro, I--" He stopped, the warm comfort fading away as quickly as it came now that he saw Kotoro up close. His older brother stood in front of him, his cloak covered in blood and claw marks on his face. He glared at Kaitsu, his yellow eyes gleaming with pure hatred.

"Wh…What happened?" Kaitsu reached his hand out to him shakily, but Kotoro just slapped it away, the anger in his eyes growing.

"Get away from me…" he muttered, his voice cold and harsh.

Kaitsu blinked, a hurt expression on his face. "What?"

"It's all your fault Kaitsu…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You couldn't even save your own brother. It's your fault everyone died…" Kotoro scowled at Kaitsu, his eyes showing no pity. Kaitsu stood there, trying to understand what Kotoro was saying.

Suddenly a hooded figure appeared behind Kotoro, his red eyes gleaming in the darkness. He summoned his Keyblade and raised it over Kotoro's head as Kaitsu screamed,

"NO!!!"

A sickening crunch echoed throughout the abyss as the unknown's Keyblade sliced into Kotoro. His eyes widened in pain and he fell to the ground, blood pouring around him.

"KOTORO!"

Kotoro looked up at Kaitsu with no emotion in his face. "…It's… all your…fault…" And with that his eyes faded to black and he lay there dead. Kaitsu fell on his knees, staring at the dead body in disbelief. Shock consumed him completely as he sat there.

The scene began to change and the two were back in the large room that Kaitsu first woke up in. The unknown dismissed his Keyblade and walked past Kaitsu.

"That is what will happen if you do not obey my commands…" He turned towards Kaitsu, a smirk visible from under his hood. "You wouldn't want your dear brother to die because of your stubbornness, would you?"

Kaitsu looked up as an image appeared behind the unknown. It showed Kotoro inside Disney Castle, walking towards the throne room where the others were. The unknown pulled out a small jar from his pocket. Inside it was a small crystal object, but Kaitsu couldn't see what it was in the dim light of the room. The unknown pulled out the crystal object and began to tighten his fist around it. Suddenly the Kotoro in the image fell on his knees in pain, his hands clutching his chest. Kaitsu's eyes widened as he realized what the unknown was doing.

"No! Stop!" he shouted. The unknown's grip on the crystal loosened and he smiled sinisterly.

"It can't be…" muttered Kaitsu. The unknown nodded, a sinister smile visible from underneath his hood.

"Yes, Kaitsu. I have the other half of your brother's heart."

* * *

'…_What the hell just happened?_' Kotoro blinked as the pain in his chest faded away. He stood back up and shook the thought away as he continued walking towards the throne room, unaware that he was being watched…

* * *

"But…that's not true," said Kaitsu. "Ronin said the other half was destroyed by the Heartless…"

The unknown laughed lightly. "Ronin _guessed_ the other half was destroyed… He didn't know I had it. And now that he does, it's too late anyway. And besides," he looked down at the half-heart in the jar, "if this half is destroyed, your brother would lose the part of him that is Heartless. And that is the only part that is still keeping him alive."

"You…monster…" muttered Kaitsu as the unknown smiled at him. "It was you. You were the one causing him pain…"

* * *

---_4 years ago_---

"_Kotoro? What's wrong?" The ten-year-old Kaitsu knelt down by his older brother. The 12-year-old just shook hid head and stood back up._

"_It's nothing. Probably just a flu or something…"_

---_3 years ago_---

"_What's wrong with him…?" asked Kaitsu, looking up at the hooded figure standing next to him._

"_I don't know…" muttered Ronin. The eleven-year-old looked at his brother as he lay in bed. He was covered in cold sweat and breathing shallowly._

_It was hard for them to believe that the very next day Kotoro was out of bed and feeling better than ever._

---_1 year ago_---

"_K-Kotoro?"_

"_Don't worry, I'm fine." The 15-year-old stood back up and looked at the worried 13-year-old._

"_Why do you do that?" he asked. "You look like you're in pain sometimes. Why?"_

"_I don't know…" Kotoro looked at the ground in thought._

"_Is a disease?"_

"_Probably. We might never know…"_

* * *

"You were behind it all…" muttered Kaitsu, the memories flashing through his mind as anger rose inside of him.

"Of course I was. It was fun to see your brother in pain like that." The unknown laughed lightly, the voice sounding like poison to Kaitsu's ears. He couldn't take it anymore.

"You…You bastard!!!" Kaitsu summoned his Keyblade and charged at the unknown. But before he could strike, the unknown's grip on the heart tightened once more. A scream of pain echoed in Kaitsu's mind and he stopped, his Keyblade disappearing from his hand. The unknown smirked and rammed the flat end of his raven Keyblade into Kaitsu's stomach. He doubled over in pain as he felt one of his wounds reopen.

"It would be wise for you to not attack me, Kaitsu." The unknown stood before Kaitsu, his red eyes gleaming as he coughed up a few drops of blood. "I have half of your brother's heart. I could destroy it right now if I wanted to."

The unknown placed his hand on Kaitsu's shoulder, his nails digging into his skin as a familiar coldness swept over the boy.

"You _will_ obey my commands," the unknown hissed, "Otherwise I'll destroy your brother's heart."

Kaitsu remained silent, shock and guilt nearly paralyzing him. If he did accept, he would have to join the darkness and put millions of lives at risk. But if he didn't accept…he would lose his only brother.

"Do you accept my terms, Kaitsu?"

Kaitsu lowered his head, fighting back his tears.

"…I accept…"

* * *

"The Gummi Ship is ready, your majesty!" said Donald. Mickey nodded and the others stood up, following Donald and Goofy to the spaceship.

"Wow…" muttered Sora once they reached it. It was twice as big as the Gummi Ship he had used in his previous adventures. It was painted pure white with the word _Highwind_ written in silver on the side.

Donald opened up the hatch and everyone walked in, each taking a separate seat while Mickey took the pilot's seat in the cockpit.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Mickey looked back at the others from the pilot's seat. They all nodded and Mickey began to push several buttons. Within a few seconds, the Gummi Ship rose from the ground and shot off into space.

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Kairi.

"We're going to a world called Tamahiko," said Mickey.

'_My home world?_' Kotoro froze. "But…that world was destroyed by the Heartless years ago."

"It was. But after two years it was restored. Unfortunately, the entire land is in ruins now. No one lives there because the darkness took over that world. My best guess is that they are keeping Kaitsu there."

"How long will it take us to get there?" asked Riku.

"About one day," said Donald.

Kotoro sighed and looked out the window, the words of the others barely heard over his thoughts. He took out Kaitsu's Balance Sphere and noticed its color had turned much darker. Kotoro closed his eyes, his hand closing around the orb.

'_I'm coming, Kaitsu. Hang in there._'

* * *

Me: done! (grin)

Kaitsu: that freak blackmailed me!!!

Me: I wouldn't say he blackmailed you…It sounded like threatening to me.

Kaitsu: … (glare)

Me: anywho, no review replies for today everyone! Sorry! I have to go to this party and I don't have enough time left. Read and review! Ja ne!

**Merielle**


	13. New Friends and Enemies

Me: wow, I finally updated! School's back again and now I don't think I have enough time…

Ken: you're lazy…

Me: no I'm not! I've been doing lots of homework!

Ken: riiiight…

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. Now read before I get my flying monkeys.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 12—New Friends and Enemies

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"…What about now?"

"No!"

"…Now?"

"NO!!"

Sora grinned and leaned back in his chair as Donald threw him an annoyed look. It had already been about five hours since they left Disney Castle…and they got bored. Now they were trying to pass the time away by annoying Donald.

"One million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…"

Donald turned around slowly, an angry look on his face. "Riku?"

"One million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand—Yeah?—nine hundred ninety-eight bottles of beer--"

"SHUT UP!"

The three teens laughed as Donald began throwing a temper tantrum. Kotoro smiled at them before looking back out at the stars. For some reason, he felt that something wasn't right…

* * *

"Your friends are going to arrive soon." The cold voice echoed throughout the dimly lit room.

Kaitsu remained silent as the unknown walked past him.

"You know what you must do once they get there," he said.

Kaitsu nodded slightly, still refusing to speak. The unknown turned towards him, his eyes narrowing.

"You still care about them, don't you?"

The unknown frowned as Kaitsu lowered his head. The silence was beginning to irritate him. He shook the thought away as he stepped towards Kaitsu.

"There's no need to care about them anymore. The darkness is the only thing you have now--"

"You're wrong…"

The unknown stopped, his eyes narrowing into deadly slits as Kaitsu glared at him. He sighed and waved away the remark. "There is still light within you. No matter—it will fade away soon enough." The unknown walked off, but stopped before the door.

"Remember Kaitsu, one wrong move and you will deeply regret it. I'm sure your brother will too." And with that the unknown closed the door behind him, leaving Kaitsu alone in the room.

* * *

Mickey sighed as he put the ship on auto-pilot, trying his best to stay awake. He looked behind him and examined the sleeping passengers. They had all fallen asleep an hour ago.

Mickey glanced at Donald, who was muttering in his sleep, then at Goofy, who was snoring peacefully. Sora was drooling in his sleep, a happy expression on his face, and Kairi was asleep also. Mickey chuckled lightly as he heard Riku mutter something about "no more cottage cheese" in his sleep. Everyone was sleeping peacefully…well, almost everyone. Mickey glanced at Kotoro and frowned as he noticed his sad expression. He sighed and walked back to the pilot's seat. None of them were aware of what was soon to befall them…

* * *

_Kotoro stood in an open field. He looked around and noticed a figure standing in the distance. Running towards the figure, he noticed the sky turning blood red. He stopped as he reached the figure._

"_Kaitsu?"_

_The boy turned around, his blue eyes locking on to Kotoro's yellow ones. Kotoro smiled and walked closer to Kaitsu, a smile on his face._

"_I'm so glad I found you!"_

_Kotoro stopped walking as Kaitsu took a step back. A pained expression was on his face, and he looked like he was near the edge of crying._

"…_Don't come near me," he muttered. Kaitsu's clothes began to fade into black and he summoned his Keyblade, which was now pure black. Kotoro's eyes widened as realization hit him, and the fear in his heart grew._

"_Kaitsu, no…"_

_Suddenly a deep burning pain began to grow inside Kotoro and he fell on his knees, clutching onto his chest. Pain like none other was shooting throughout him. He felt like he was going to die. Kotoro looked up and saw that Kaitsu was crying. The younger boy raised his Keyblade over his head; uttering two words before the blade came crashing down…_

"…_I'm sorry…"_

* * *

"AAH!" Kotoro shot up from his seat. Cold sweat was covering his body and he tried to slow down his fast breathing. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, the nightmare still taking its effect on him. Was the dream really true?

Kotoro put his hand over his heart, a tingling pain still lingering there. The dream felt so real… He sighed again and looked out the window, the stars twinkling as the ship flew past them. Only a few more hours until they reached Tamahiko…

* * *

"Hey, kid, why so gloomy?"

Kaitsu turned around, looking at the boy standing behind him. He looked about the age of fifteen and had spiky blue hair, and light green eyes. But the strangest feature of him was his light blue cat ears and tail.

Kaitsu remained silent and turned towards the open field. The boy pouted and leaned against the wall of the mansion.

"You don't have to be so quiet. It's not like I bite."

"I highly doubt that." The blue-haired boy turned around to see another figure walk out from the shadows. He too wore a black trench coat, and had straight black hair with yellow highlights and black eyes.

"Well, what do you know? Sanyu the Wicked finally shows himself," mocked the cat boy and smirked at the seventeen-year-old.

"Shut up, Tamorei," hissed the one known as Sanyu. He looked over at Kaitsu and narrowed his eyes. "Is he the one?"

Tamorei nodded. "Yep. I can't get him to talk, though…"

"What's your name kid?" asked Sanyu.

"Kaitsu," he muttered, looking back at them.

"He speaks. Oh joy…" said Tamorei in a sarcastic tone.

"Anyway," continued Sanyu, ignoring Tamorei's remark, "Welcome to our group. You're going to like it here."

"I doubt that…" muttered Kaitsu.

"Hey, don't be so depressed! Put a smile on!" Tamorei grinned, his tail flicking behind him. His smile disappeared and he pouted when Kaitsu didn't respond. "Oh fine, be that way."

"Now's not a time to be fooling around," said Sanyu.

"Don't worry! I'll be ready when they come!" said Tamorei as he grinned in a cocky way. Kaitsu lowered his head, feeling a pang of guilt inside him.

"And even if they do interfere, I'll just kill them," said Sanyu. Kaitsu glared at Sanyu for a second, and then walked off into the fields.

"I think you made him upset," muttered Tamorei. Sanyu just shrugged and the two of them disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

"Okay, everyone! Just a few minutes left," said Mickey. Everyone had gathered around the window of the pilot's seat to see the world as it came into view.

"It looks so beautiful," said Kairi. The entire world was covered in fields of grass. But as they came closer, they saw destroyed buildings on the world, and a dark sky.

After a few minutes, the Gummi Ship landed safely in the open field. Everyone walked out and began to look around at the ruins of what used to be a town. '_This is the town where we used to live in…_' Kotoro looked at the destroyed buildings as memories of the past began to playback in his mind.

Suddenly a small rustling was heard behind some of the buildings. Everyone looked over at the source of the sound and saw…

"…A tail?!" Sora looked closer at the tail and pulled on it.

"Ow!" A boy about the age of fifteen popped out behind the rocks and jumped back, rubbing his tail. "Don't _ever_ touch the tail!"

"What the…" murmured Riku as they saw that the boy had blue cat ears and tail. The boy looked at Kotoro and his eyes widened.

"…Kotoro? Is that really you?"

"What?" Kotoro blinked, surprised that the…cat-boy knew his name.

"Kotoro, it's me! Don't you remember?" The boy smiled as his tail swayed back and forth behind him.

"Sorry, I don't…" He trailed off as he looked closer at the boy. He looked very familiar without the ears and tail. "…Tamorei?"

* * *

_"I don't want to go, Kotoro," muttered the five-year old as he hid behind the seven-year-old._

_"It's okay, Kaitsu. I'm sure the people here are nice," said Kotoro as they walked into the town. There were several wooden cabins on the sides of the dirt road that was filled with few people._

_"Where should we go?" asked Kaitsu. Kotoro looked around and saw a lady selling flowers._

_"Excuse me, miss?"_

_The lady looked at the two and smiled faintly. "Hello there. You must be the new inhabitants everyone's been talking about."_

_"Um, yes… Could you tell us anything about this town? We're kinda lost…"_

_Suddenly a middle-aged woman walked towards the lady. "What're you doing? Why are you talking with them?"_

_"I'm sorry. I was just helping them…" The lady trailed off as the woman shot a glare at the two boys._

_"It's best if you two leave this town," hissed the woman. "We don't want any trouble around here." She then grabbed the younger lady by the arm and walked off._

_"…That was rude," murmured Kotoro._

_"I told you they'd hate us…" whimpered Kaitsu. "Let's go home…"_

_"But we need a map to find our way home…and we don't even have one," said Kotoro._

_"Hi there!"_

_The two boys turned around and saw a boy about the age of six. He had short blue hair and bright green eyes._

_"You two must be new around here. Here's a map." The boy pulled out a map from his pocket and gave it to Kotoro._

_"Thanks," said Kotoro. "What's your name?"_

_"My name's Tamorei." The boy smiled at them. "See ya later!" And with that, he ran off._

* * *

"Yep. That's me," smirked the boy, his tail swaying happily. "For a second there, I thought you forgot about me."

"What're you doing here?" asked Kotoro.

"Just looking around," said Tamorei as he crossed his hands behind his head.

"We don't have time to chat!" quacked Donald.

"Yeah, we need to find Kaitsu," said Sora. Kotoro looked back at them and nodded.

"Hey, Tamorei, do you want to come with--" He stopped as he turned around and saw he was gone. "…Where'd he go?"

"Probably off to look around some more," said Riku.

"Come on, we have more important things to do," said Mickey. Kotoro nodded and they walked off.

* * *

Tamorei sighed as he leaned against the rail of the balcony. This wasn't going to be an easy fight for them…

"Something on your mind?"

Tamorei closed his eyes, sensing two people behind him.

"I'm just thinking…" he muttered and looked behind him. There stood a girl in a black trench coat with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a black witch hat, and a small black raven was perched on her shoulder. Next to her was a boy wearing the same coat and had shoulder-length silver hair that faded into blue at the ends and grey eyes.

"Looks more like worrying to me," said the girl as she crossed her arms.

"It's just…what will happen when they reach the mansion?" asked Tamorei.

"I doubt they'll be able to even find the mansion," said Sanyu as he walked out of the shadows. "This place is like a maze."

Tamorei frowned. "But if they do find it…"

"We'll be ready," said the girl.

"It's not that. I just wonder how he'll feel when he sees his best friends turning against him…" muttered Tamorei. The girl sighed,

"I know he'll feel heart-broken, but--"

"Heart-broken? Please! The guy barely has half a heart," hissed Sanyu.

"Sanyu, don't you dare talk like that!" The girl shot a glare at him. Sanyu looked at the fifteen-year-old.

"Whatever. You can say whatever you like about him, Yuri, but it won't change a thing," said Sanyu. "He's still a half-Heartless."

"What do you think, Nori?" The blonde known as Yuri turned to the silver-haired boy, who had remained silent the entire time.

"…I don't think it really matters," muttered Nori. "They'll all die sooner or later."

"Whatever," said Tamorei. "Forget I asked."

Yuri sighed, petting the raven on her shoulder as she looked out at the open fields. "I feel sorry for Kaitsu…"

"You feel sorry for everyone, don't you?" said Sanyu.

"We should go inside," said Tamorei. "We have to get ready." The others nodded and walked inside.

* * *

Kaitsu looked out at the ruins, memories flooding back into his mind. He sat down on the ground and hugged his knees to his chest, a teardrop falling to the ground. He buried his face into his knees and began crying.

"Someone help me… Get me out of this mess… Please…"

* * *

Me: I FINALLY finished!!! It's been like… five days I've been writing this piece by piece. Stupid school and homework and other distractions… and this officially the longest I've ever written!

Everyone: 10 pages!!! (wave flags)

Kaitsu: you're turning me into a cry-baby in this story…

Me: well, someone has to be the sensitive one… hehe…

Takari: And now for the review replies.

**Kai**- No, you're not gona get angry when you find out who he is. Actually, he's just another OC of mine. Hehe… yep, Ronin get very mad.

**Risako**- Yay, you have returned! (happy grin) So that explains the lack of reviews… (sweatdrop) Anywho, yeah, I updated a lot! And as for Riku being strong enough to hold Kaitsu….well, he's…Riku! XD

Ken: you can't argue with that logic…

Me: shut up. (glare)

**Keyblade Master**- Fear the cliffies… Fear them! Mwahaha…um…yeah… eheh… (sweatdrop)

**NinjaMage**- I would never abandon my reader's reviews! …okay, maybe. XD And yes, my heart aches to make Kaitsu suffer this much.

Kaitsu: no it doesn't. You laugh evilly every time I suffer.

Me: Oh, I do? (whacks Kaitsu with staff)

Kaitsu: ow! What was that for?!

Me: mwahahaha—erm… ehehe… (sweatdrop)

Kaitsu: …

Me: anywho, I might update the next one by tomorrow or the next day since it's the weekend now! Yay! Hehe.. read and review!

**Merielle**


	14. The First Battle

Me: It's the weekend, and I finally have some time to work on the story! 

Ken: this story's becoming a bit…demented…

Me: okay, so I drifted away from my main idea a tiny bit…

Ken: (glare)

Me: Okay, more than I expected…

Ken: (glares harder)

Me: okay, okay, so I drifted away from the main plot a lot!

Ken: that's better…

Me: oh, and warning! There's gona be some torture in this chapter! If you don't like blood and painful gory torture, then don't read that part.

Kaitsu: dear god, help me…

Me: mwahahaha! ……ehehe…

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. All she owns is Kaitsu, Kotoro, Takari, Ken, Seika, Tamorei, Yuri, Sanyu, Nori, and the freaky hooded guy whose name I can't say. She owns way too many OCs…

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 13—The First Battle

"…I think we're lost."

"Gee, you think?" Riku shot a glare at Sora as they continued walking through the ruins. It had already been an hour.

"Didn't we pass this fountain before?" asked Kairi. The others looked at it and groaned. That was the fifth time they had passed this part of the ruins.

"We are officially lost," muttered Sora and he plopped down on the ground.

"Well, we can't give up now," said Mickey. "Let's keep going." And with that, they continued walking down the path.

* * *

"Are you ready Yuri?"

The blonde nodded at the hooded boy standing before her, his red eyes fixed upon her.

"I'll do my best," she said. And with that, she disappeared. The boy turned around, a sinister smile visible from under his hood.

"I doubt they'll be able to get past the four battles. And even if they do, it'll be too late." A cold laughter filled the room as he disappeared too.

* * *

"I say we go left!"

"No, right!"

"Left!"

"Right!"

The others sighed as Sora and Riku began to argue on which path to take. Kotoro shook his head, saying,

"Let's just take the middle one."

The two boys thought about it and nodded as they took the center path. After a few minutes they reached a large castle. It was completely black, and had many looming towers of different sizes. There were a few crows circling the highest tower. Just by looking at the castle, it sent a chill down their spines.

"This must be the place," said Kotoro. As soon as he took a step forward a portal appeared in front of the door and a blond girl walked out of it. She wore a black trench coat and a witch hat, and a raven was perched on her shoulder.

"Congratulations! You have finally reached Castle Oblivion." She smiled at them. (That was the only name I could think of. Bear with me here…)

"…Yuri? Is that you?" Kotoro stared wide-eyed, wondering how in the world one of his childhood friends would be here.

"I'm glad you remember me," said Yuri. Her face changed into a sad expression. "It's too bad I can't let you through to the castle though."

Kotoro frowned. "Why not?"

"It's the Master's orders. I'm sorry, but you'll have to fight me to get through."

Kotoro blinked. His own friend had joined the side of darkness and turned on him. He couldn't believe it.

Yuri sighed and extended out her hand, a small fireball forming in it. "I'm sorry, Kotoro. But this is the only way."

And with that, she hurled the fireball straight at them.

* * *

"Your friends have arrived."

Kaitsu looked behind him, seeing the hooded man standing there. His red eyes gleamed from under his hood as Kaitsu remained silent.

"You should get ready for the battle."

"I don't want to fight," muttered Kaitsu.

"You will do as I say."

"No!" Kaitsu glared at the unknown, his anger rising. Before he knew it, the unknown had grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall.

"Kaitsu, there are many ways that you can join the darkness. I tried asking nicely…" The unknown summoned his Keyblade and raised it to Kaitsu's throat. "…But I guess I'll just have to force you to."

In one swift movement, the blade pierced into Kaitsu's shoulder. Kaitsu screamed in agony, pain like no other spreading throughout him.

"It's still not too late, Kaitsu. You can still give up easily," said the unknown, the Keyblade still lodged in the boy's shoulder.

"I'll never give up," said Kaitsu, ignoring the blood that now trickled down to the floor.

"I guess I have no choice." The unknown frowned and twisted the Keyblade deeper into Kaitsu's shoulder. Kaitsu gritted his teeth as more blood fell down his shirt. After a few seconds, the unknown pulled out the Keyblade and chains sprouted from the wall, tying Kaitsu's hands to the wall.

The unknown made two more slashes across Kaitsu's chest, the ground around them now covered in blood. Kaitsu closed his eyes tightly, biting back his screams. Suddenly the blade shot through Kaitsu's left arm and something in there cracked. Kaitsu grunted, tears of pain stinging his eyes. The unknown dismissed the raven Keyblade, satisfied with the damage he had done.

"I'll let you rethink your choice," hissed the unknown. "But remember, if you push my limits any further, I'll be forced to destroy your brother's heart." And with that, he disappeared, leaving Kaitsu hanging there unconscious in the room.

* * *

Kotoro jumped out of the way as the fireball flew swiftly past them. Before they knew it, fire and ice attacks were raining upon them. Kotoro began to deflect them with his claws, while Sora and Riku used their swords to deflect the attacks too. Suddenly a large barrier appeared between Kotoro and the others.

"This is a fight between you and me," said Yuri. She jumped back as the raven flew off her shoulder and began to fly around her target. She raised her hand in the air and shouted, "Thundaga!"

A shower of lightning bolts struck down on him. Kotoro staggered back, his yellow eyes glowing with rage. He transformed into a shadow Heartless and leapt at Yuri, but was blown back by Aero. The others watched in awe as the Heartless changed into a Wyvern. He flew at Yuri and managed to knock her down, stopping the attacks momentarily. The Wyvern circled around and darted at the blonde for another strike.

"Graviga!" Suddenly the Wyvern was shot down to the ground and he changed back into a shadow Heartless as the spell wore off. Suddenly the Heartless disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" exclaimed Kairi. The others looked around frantically, but saw him nowhere. Suddenly a loud shriek pierced through the air and everyone looked at the sight before them.

Yuri was on her knees, her eyeswide with pain, and Kotoro was standing behind her, holding a crystal heart in his hand. The blonde turned slowly to the half-Heartless, a weak smile on her face.

"You won the battle..." She lowered her head as she began to disappear. "Good-bye…" The heart is Kotoro's hand disappeared as the barrier faded away. Yuri disappeared completely, leaving only a small blue gem on the ground.

"Come on, we better hurry," said Kotoro as he picked up the gem, ignoring the looks of shock on the other's faces.

"But…You just killed her!" exclaimed Kairi.

"…So?"

"Wasn't she your friend?" asked Sora.

"Someone who turns on me is never my friend," said Kotoro coldly. He turned around and walked towards the door. Sora looked at Riku and Kairi, who had nothing to say about Kotoro's comment. Deciding it was best not to anger him, they followed Kotoro as he pushed open the door.

* * *

Kaitsu slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing painfully. The bleeding had stopped, but his body was still aching. He glanced at his left arm, which was hanging limply. He tried to move it, but a sharp spasm of pain shot through it. He closed his eyes, trying to forget the horrible pain.

"Ko tairo des akato… Ko tairo des yu…"

Kaitsu began to mutter the words, a faint smile on his face. Kotoro used to sing that song when they were little. Usually when Kaitsu had a nightmare, Kotoro would just chant the song to calm him down. Now was the time when he needed the song most…

"Kurasi noro hikari… Tori esu nanaki…"

He continued to sing the words softly, feeling a comforting warmth in his heart. '_I won't give up…_' he thought.

* * *

Kotoro stopped walking up the stairs and looked up at the ceiling. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Sora. The others stopped and looked back at Kotoro. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, as though something was there. The others tried to listen too, but heard nothing.

"I don't hear anything," said Riku.

Kotoro shook his head. "Never mind. I must be hearing things…" He continued walking up the stairs, the others following behind him. Mickey lingered behind a few seconds, looking up at the ceiling. "You weren't imagining it Kotoro,"hemuttered, mostlyto himself. "I heard it too..."

* * *

Nori stood in the middle of the library, waiting for their "guests". A portal appeared behind him and Tamorei walked out of it.

"Are you ready Nori?" he asked. The silver-haired boy nodded, not looking back at Tamorei.

"This isn't going to be an easy fight… Considering the fact that you're…" Tamoreitrailed offonce Nori turned to him. It looked as though his grey eyes were fixed on him, but there was a distant look in them, as though he wasn't looking at Tamorei at all.

"It's all right. I can still fight them," said Nori, turning his back on the cat-boy once more. Tamorei nodded and disappeared through a portal. The silver-haired boy stood there a few minutes, lost in thought. A long sword materialized in his hand, and he turned to look at it, running his hands over its surface as he muttered,

"Even if I am blind…I can still fight them."

* * *

Me: nee! Another finished chapter! I'm so happy. The story's turning out better than it I expected it to. And yes, Nori's blind! But he's not the blind-folded unknown from Deep Dive, if any of you are wondering about that. All the unknowns are just little OCs of mine in the story.Anyway, how's Kaitsu doing?

Ken: um… he's doing…okay...

Kaitsu: pain. hurt. agony. (twitch)

Ken: don't you think you're overdoing the torture?

Me: nope. That never crossed my mind. (innocent grin)

Takari: And now for the review replies.

**Ninja Mage**- It took me a while to decide who should be the one singing '99 bottles.' XD Thanks weekends! Otherwise there would be no updates… (sweatdrop)

**Mikol**- Yay, new reader! And you have a crazy imagination too! Wee! (jumps around hyperactively) …okay, I'm done now.

**Kai**- Make Riku evil? Well, yeah that would be a wonderful twist, but then the entire story might get messed up. Just think of the chaos… hehe… (evil grin)

**Risako**- All of the characters in this story except for Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey are actually characters I made up myself. It's an OC invasion! XDAnywho, I hope you catch up soon.

Me: oh, and by the way everyone,as for thesecret language... It's a mix between Japanese, Latin, and English that I made up.I'll call it...Jatinglish!

Ken: Jatinglish?

Me: Yep! Neat name, huh?

Ken: …I'm not in the mood to kill your happiness right now, so I'll just leave... (walks off)

Me: Anywho, read and review!

**Merielle**


	15. The Second Battle

Me: Bad news people… I won't be able to update any longer during the weekdays.

Everyone: (gasp)

Kaitsu: why not?

Me: …School.

Kaitsu: (shudder)

Me: I'll be able to write, but no internet on weekdays. That means I'll be able to update really fast over the weekends. That's the good part.

Ken: woop-dee-freakin'-doo…

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. Be happy she doesn't.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 14—The Second Battle

It was a demon. It was the son of a devil. Nothing could possibly be worse than this evil creature. No, it was worse that the devil itself.

…It was a squirrel.

Kaitsu stared at it, his eye twitching as it came closer. Apparently, the window was open, and a little squirrel decided to jump in and scare the hell out of poor Kaitsu. The squirrel looked at Kaitsu and scuttled closer.

"Stay!" yelled Kaitsu. The squirrel jumped back and looked at the boy with its round eyes. Even though Kaitsu thought squirrels were strange, this one was even stranger. It had black fur and bright red eyes.

"Get away from me you evil little monster…" muttered Kaitsu, glaring at the evil creature. The squirrel looked at Kaitsu and ran up to his leg, only to be kicked back.

"Three feet distance!" yelled Kaitsu. The squirrel ignored this and scuttled up the wall and jumped on Kaitsu's head. Kaitsu twitched as the furry little creature sat on his head.

"This is the worst day of my life…" groaned Kaitsu, closing his eyes. A few minutes passed and he opened his eyes to see a pair of round red eyes staring at him. Kaitsu screamed, causing the squirrel that was staring at him to fall down. It shook its head and looked up at Kaitsu. After a few minutes it ran around in a circle and jumped out of the window. Kaitsu sighed, relieved that the little devil finally left. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering about his friends.

'_I hope they get here soon…_'

* * *

After half an hour, Sora and the others reached a door at the end of the staircase. They opened it and found a large library that had shelves filled to the ceiling with books. Their eyes fell upon a boy who seemed to be reading a book. He didn't seem to know they had entered, for he hadn't turned around to look at them.

Kotoro's eyes widened as he saw the boy's silver hair. "…Kaitsu?"

The boy jumped and wheeled around at them, his eyes slightly wide from fear. Kotoro's hopes fell as he saw the boy's grey eyes. The silver-haired boy blinked and put the book on the table.

"Who's there?" he said, his eyes narrowing. The others blinked at this. They were standing right in front of him and he was asking 'who's there?'

"Uh… We're here to find Kaitsu," said Sora, uncertain of what to do. The boy blinked once more.

"I didn't expect you to arrive this soon..." he muttered. A long sword appeared in his hand as a determined expression was set on his face. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to fight me to get through."

"And you are…?" asked Riku.

"My name is Nori, and I'll make sure you don't leave this room alive." And with that, he charged at them. Sora summoned his Keyblade and deflected the blow while the other summoned their weapons too. Nori jumped back and charged once more at them. Riku blocked the attack as Kairi began shooting at Nori. He jumped to the side, narrowly missing the bullets, and slashed his sword across Riku's side. Sora took this opportunity and used Strike Raid at Nori. The boy rolled to the ground, avoiding the attack, and stood back up.

"He's fast…" muttered Sora. Mickey's eyes narrowed as he replayed the scene over in his mind. There was something off in Nori's attacks…

Kotoro charged at Nori, his claws ready to strike, but the boy raised his sword and deflected the attack. He jumped back and charged at them once more, delivering several more strikes at Kotoro, Sora, and Riku, while the others watched and healed them from a distance.

Sora threw his Keyblade in Strike Raid once more, only to miss as Nori rolled to the ground again. Seeing Nori caught off guard, Kotoro jumped at him and managed to create a deep gash in the boy's left arm. Nori grunted and jumped back, only to be hit in the back by Riku's blade. He winced and staggered back, a confused look on his face. Mickey's eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

Riku managed to deliver another blow at Nori. The boy jumped back and took a defensive stance. They continued to attack Nori, only to have them deflected. After a few minutes of attacks, Kotoro, Riku, and Sora were tired, while Nori still kept his stance with only a few cuts on him.

"This guy's really strong," said Kotoro. "Is there any way we can beat him?"

"There is."

The three looked at Mickey as he took a few steps forward, a serious expression on his face. He glanced over at Nori and said,

"He's blind."

The others blinked, looked at Mickey, then at Nori, then back.

"You're kidding, right?" said Sora.

"No, I'm not," said Mickey, not at all taking this as a joke. "Didn't you notice that he never attacked you first? He was waiting for you to attack first so he could hear you coming." The others looked at Nori, who was now smiling faintly.

"So you found out my weakness, good for you," he said, taking his stance once more. "But even though I'm blind, I can still hear you."

"What should we do?" asked Riku. The others pondered over this question. Kotoro smirked,

"I got an idea. Leave this to me."

And with that, he changed into a shadow Heartless and stalked silently towards Nori. The others blinked, realizing what Kotoro was doing.

Nori kept his stance, trying to listen to any sound of movement. But no sound came. Unknown to him, a Heartless was able to move silently, and he had no idea that Kotoro was approaching him. The Heartless jumped behind Nori and instantly latched onto his back. Nori jumped out of fright and began struggling. A scream of pain echoed throughout the room as the Heartless' claws bore into Nori's back and clamped over his heart.

But before Kotoro could pull out his heart, Nori raised his sword and struck it into the Heartless' back. It immediately let go and fell to the floor, a small white gem in its right hand. Nori pulled out the sword and grunted, his hand clutching his chest. He took a few steps back before disappearing through a portal.

The others ignored this and ran to the Heartless as it changed back into Kotoro. They winced as they saw the gash through his stomach.

"Cura!" Donald raised his staff, trying to heal Kotoro, but the injury didn't disappear. "What? Why isn't it working?!"

"He must've put an anti-magic spell when he impaled him," said Mickey, examining the wound.

"I'll be fine…" Kotoro tried to get up, but fell back down. He covered his mouth as he coughed up more blood.

"You should go back to the Gummi Ship," suggested Kairi. Kotoro shook his head, trying to stand up once more.

"No. I have to save my brother." He stood up and limped a few steps before Mickey stopped him.

"There's no need to be reckless, Kotoro. You need to rest."

Kotoro growled and continued walking, ignoring Mickey's order. The others sighed, giving up their attempts to stop him, and walked to the next door. Kotoro stopped walking as the others went on.

"Are you coming?" asked Sora as they looked back at him.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up," he said. They nodded and walked up the stairs as Kotoro lingered there. He looked down at his wound and noticed half of it was already healed.

'_Being a Heartless does have good sides too sometimes…_' He smiled inwardly. Raising his right hand, he looked at the small white gem he pulled out of Nori's heart. He looked in his pocket and took out the blue gem he had received from the battle with Yuri. He continued to stand there, gazing at the gems in thought.

'_What are these gems for…?_'

* * *

"Nori, what happened?"

Tamorei rushed to Nori as he fell on his knees, his hand clutching his chest. Sanyu looked at the bloody form and smirked,

"The poor thing lost the battle…"

"Now's not a time for sarcasm, Sanyu!" snapped Tamorei as he helped Nori up.

"They got it…" murmured Nori.

"What?"

"Theyhave the gem," muttered Nori. The other's eyes widened as the words shot through the silence.

"I'll go get the Master," said Sanyu, a hint of worry in his voice. Tamorei nodded as Sanyu disappeared through a portal. Nori drooped to his knees, his breathing becoming shallow. Tamorei lowered his head,

"Don't worry, Nori. We won't let you die."

* * *

Me: this was a short chapter. Bear with me.

Kaitsu: you tortured me with a squirrel this time?!

Ken: well, there's gotta be some comedy in this pathetically angsty story…

Me: thanks for the support Ken… (sweatdrop)

Ken: my pleasure…

Me: anywho, that squirrel might be a bit freaky, but it's gona be important in the next few chapters. Keep on the lookout for the black-colored, red-eyed squirrel!

Takari: And now for the review replies.

**Ninja Mage**- To tell you the truth, I've become a bit obsessed with Kaitsu and Kotoro. I drew a picture of them last week and they looked liked bishies! (Japanese for hot guys) XD Anywho, now I'm a bit obsessed with my own OCs… that's weird. (sweatop)

**Risako**- Poor little Kaitsu… That's what everyone says. And Yes, I want a box of chocolates right now too. In fact, I'll go get one right now! (runs off)

**Mikol**- Who are you calling horrible? I'm not horrible…hehe… (smiles innocently) Anywho, since everyone was getting depressed by Kaitsu's torture, I decided to add a little comedy by putting in a psychotically cute squirrel in the story! XD

Me: That's all for now! Read and review!

**Merielle**


	16. The Third Battle

Me: not much ranting right now… All I have to say is that this chapter's gona be a bit sad for Nori… and I'm high on sugar.

Kaitsu: never bother a teen when she's hyped up on sugar.

Me: NEE! (runs off)

Kaitsu: …

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. …And I don't get paid enough for this…

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 15—The Third Battle

It came back. For some reason, the stupid creature wouldn't leave him alone. And for some bizarre reason, it was sitting on his head again.

Squirrels were the most annoying creatures on earth.

Kaitsu sighed, trying to ignore the evil little creature on his head.

"Get off…" he muttered. The squirrel chose to ignore this and continued its little nap. Kaitsu drifted to thought, realizing that it had been about an hour, and still no one had come. That freaky hooded man didn't even come to torture him. Something was definitely wrong.

…That, and the squirrel on his head was bugging him.

"Stupid squirrels…"

The squirrel opened its eyes and jumped onto Kaitsu's shoulder. The boy's eye twitched as the squirrel began playing around with the chains hanging on the wall. ((The squirrel is completely ruining the depressing mood… XD))

After a few more minutes of the squirrel annoying Kaitsu to his wits end, it jumped to the ground and left through the window once more. Kaitsu sighed, looking up to the ceiling.

'_If they don't get here soon, I'll bet the squirrel's going to drive me mad…_'

* * *

"You failed us, Nori."

The silver-haired boy looked up from the ground at the hooded man. Blood red eyes glared down at him, showing no sympathy at all. He took a deep breath as another spasm of pain shot through him.

"Master, please…"

"That gem was your life source, and since you lost the match, you lose it. That's what we all agreed on. Yuri had already lost, and look what happened to her."

"Then why didn't Nori die yet?" asked Sanyu.

"The gems give energy and support your lives. Once it's removed, your energy slowly drains away until you die. That Heartless boy not only took the gem inside Yuri, but also her heart."

Tamorei unconsciously placed a hand over his heart. "So, if we lose to them… We die?" The hooded man nodded. Sanyu growled, a sense of injustice rushing to him.

"But this isn't right--"

The hooded man raised his hand to Sanyu, interrupting his sentence. A red glow emitted from his hand and Sanyu choked in mid-sentence, his breathing becoming shorter. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

"No--Don't--"

The man lowered his hand as Sanyu took in a deep breath, his hand tightly clutching his chest.

"Damn you…" cursed Sanyu. A smirk appeared from under the hood.

"Don't forget, Sanyu. I resurrected you three and inserted those crystals into your hearts so you could live. And you have to obey every command I give you, otherwise I'll remove the gem. You're under _my_ control."

Silence rang through the room at his words. The man turned to Nori, his red eyes narrowing. The boy took shallow breaths, a puddle of blood beginning to form around him.

"Please… Let me live…" He looked up at the man pleadingly. The man turned his back on him, his icy words ringing through the room.

"No. You're going to die, so deal with it. Have fun in hell."

And with that, he disappeared, leaving the three standing there in shock at his words.

* * *

Seika stood underneath the tree, looking at the ruins surrounding them. She glanced at Ryu and Ken, who were arguing over something that didn't seem really important right now. A smile appeared on her face as small black squirrel appeared behind some rocks and scuttled up to the three.

"Hey, you two, he's back!"

The two boys stopped talking and looked at the small little creature. It began jumping up and down, chittering something at them. Ryu grinned as a small card appeared in his hand.

"Okay, time for you to go back to normal." He placed the card on the squirrel's forehead and a cloud of smoke engulfed it. After the smoke cleared away, a very ticked off Takari was standing, his red eyes twitching in annoyance.

"Never…_ever_…do that again."

"Aww, but you looked so cute when you were a squirrel!" giggled Seika.

"Well, you try climbing up a very tall castle and trying to get past tons of security devices to get in!"

"It was the only way we could check on Kaitsu," said Ken.

"The little brat called me a 'devil'!" shrieked Takari. "He freaked out and slammed his foot right into my friggin' head!!"

"Maybe you should have been a bird instead of a squirrel," said Seika. "I don't think Kaitsu takes well to squirrels…"

"No shit, Sherlock," snapped Takari.

"That's enough." They fell silent as Ken spoke. "Now's not a time to argue. Takari, you're going to stay a squirrel and check on Kaitsu as much as you can. Got it?"

"But--"

"No objection. Just do it."

"I hate this job…" Takari grumbled as Ryu placed another card on his forehead and began chanting. In a few seconds, he had turned into a squirrel once more.

"He looks so cute!" cooed Seika. The squirrel growled and, after throwing an acorn at Ken, ran off towards the castle once more.

* * *

Tamorei paced up and down the hall in front of a black door. His thoughts were a big mess and there was nothing that could calm it down. The cold words of his Master were still ringing in his head. '_I can't believe he did that…_' He stopped as the door opened and Sanyu stepped out.

"How's he doing?"

Sanyu shook his head. "Not so good. We're lucky we even had some potions, otherwise he would have lost a lot more energy than now."

"How much longer do you reckon he'll live?"

"About a day or so… I'm sure Nori wouldn't just give up his life. He'll hold on. Anyway, I'd better get ready for the next battle…" Heaving a sigh, he walked down the corridor. Tamorei opened the door and looked at Nori's sleeping form. Cold sweat was covering his forehead as he breathed shallowly, a pained expression on his face. Anger swept through Tamorei as he thought about the hooded man once more.

'_We've already suffered enough… Why does he have to make it worse?_'

* * *

After a few minutes, Kotoro and the others reached the third floor of the castle. A loud creak echoed from the door as they entered the dark room. The door closed behind them and the chandelier above them lit, revealing the contents of the room.

Everyone's eyes widened. Kairi took a step back, covering her mouth, as Sora and Riku gaped at the room. Kotoro stared in horror while Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stared at the room wide-eyed.

"My god…" muttered Riku. Sharp swords, knives, and other devices hung on the stone walls. Dried blood covered some parts of the room. The room looked even more menacing with the flames of the torches on the walls. It was the most disgusting sight they saw.

"It's a…torture chamber," said Kotoro.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," whispered Kairi. "We should get out of here."

"I'm afraid I can't let you."

They looked in front of them and saw a boy about seventeen standing before another door. He had shoulder-length black hair with blonde highlights and black eyes.

"Just great. Another one to fight," said Riku as they summoned their weapons.

"Wait a second. Who said I was going to fight you?" said Sanyu.

"You're not going to fight us?" asked Sora, lowering his Keyblade.

"Of course not. Instead… let's play a little game instead."

"A game?" asked Kotoro, completely caught off guard by the statement.

"Yes," nodded Sanyu. "Here are the rules…" Three cards appeared in his hand and he placed them face-down on a desk by the wall. "All three cards have a different symbol… Salvation and Chaos. They will remain face-down, and you have to choose one. If you pick the Salvation card, I'll give you my gem, which will allow you to continue to the next floor. If you pick the Chaos card… you'll die."

"What?!" exclaimed Kotoro.

"The Chaos card has a virus inserted in it. If anyone touches it, the virus will enter into their body and begin to tear it apart, piece by piece, and within a few minutes, it'll kill them," explained Sanyu, a sinister smile on his face.

"You twisted maniac…" murmured Sora.

"And to make the game more fun, I'll choose a card too."

"What? Why would you want to risk your life?" asked Kairi.

"It's the risk that makes it challenging," smiled Sanyu. "And besides, I am a 'twisted maniac' after all." He turned to Kotoro, a smirk on his face. "Do you accept?"

Kotoro hesitated, wondering if he should risk his life like this. '_I've already lost my life once. I don't want to go through that again... But, I have to save Kaitsu, too. I guess I have no choice…_" Sighing heavily, he looked up at Sanyu.

"I accept."

Sanyu smiled. "Alright then. You choose first."

Kotoro looked down at the two cards. '_If I chose the right card, I'll be able to pass through unharmed. But if I chose the wrong card…_' He sighed. This was definitely a game of luck, and he'd need a lot of luck to win this.

Making his decision, he extended his hand and chose the card on the right. Sanyu smiled, choosing the card on the left. Both of them raised their cards and looked at them, eyes widening at what they saw…

* * *

Me: nyahaha! This is the most climatic cliffhanger ever! I bet you all hate me for doing this! nee! XD

Kotoro: Okay, now I'm scared…

Me: You better be. Hehe…

Kotoro: (sweatdrop)

Takari: And now for review replies.

**Kai**- Yeah, I feel sorry for Nori too. I added the squirrel part for comedy, since it was getting depressing. At first I wanted it to be a bird spying on Kaitsu, but then I changed it to a squirrel. Hehe…

**Ninja Mage**- The squirrels for humor. It was supposed to be a bird, but the squirrel was funnier. Yeah, my e-mail alerts are wacking out too. (kicks computer) stupid thing… Anywho, you updated! Yay! (runs off to read and see Kadaj) hehe…

**The Keyblade Master**- Go randomness! (waves flag) Yep, random is what I am. I added the squirrel part for comedy. And I said that about five times now…

Me: That's all for now! Read and review!

**Merielle**


	17. Submission

Me: gah! I made a mistake everyone! About the cards from the previous chapter: there are three cards. One is Salvation, two are Chaos. I hope that solves the typo confusion…

Ken: you got us really confused when we read that part… (glare)

Me: sorry… I kept re-typing that part and I forgot to change it…

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. If she did, you wouldn't be reading this sentence.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 16—Submission

"It's a chaos card…" muttered Kotoro, staring wide-eyed at the card.

"Well, what do you know? I have a chaos card too," smiled Sanyu, showing the card to them.

"But that means both of you will die," exclaimed Sora.

Sanyu shook his head. "No. Only _one_ of the two chaos cards has the virus."

"Whose card has the virus?" asked Kairi.

"We're about to find out," said Sanyu. Kotoro stared down at the card, his hand shaking from fear. A few minutes passed, but nothing happened.

"Nothing's happening," said Kotoro. Sanyu smiled, the card in his hand disappearing.

"I guess I lost."

"What?" Kotoro looked up, surprised he had won. Sanyu placed a small black gem on the desk and turned to leave.

"Wait! What are these gems for? What's their purpose?"

"You'll have to use them in order to enter the tower where your brother is. And their purpose… is to keep us alive. But since we lost, we have to give them up and die."

"But that's insane!" exclaimed Sora.

"Everything in this world is insane…" muttered Sanyu. Kotoro looked down at the three gems, then at Sanyu, who was preparing to leave through a portal.

"Sanyu, wait."

Sanyu stopped, turning around to them once more. Kotoro extended his hand, showing the three gems.

"You should take these back."

"W-What?" gasped Sanyu.

"They're yours. Besides, I don't think it is right to let yourself die because of a gem," said Kotoro. Sanyu hesitated, but smiled and took the gems in his hands.

"You know, you aren't that bad after all," smirked Sanyu. He took out four gems from his pocket and gave them to Kotoro. "These are the duplicates of all four gems. You can use these to continue to the next floors without having to fight anyone else."

And with that, he disappeared through the portal.

"You know… I think both sides won this challenge," said Mickey.

"Why?" asked Riku.

"…Because there was no virus in the cards at all." Mickey smiled, walking on to the stairs, leaving the others standing there dumb-struck.

* * *

Tamorei turned around as a portal appeared in the hall and Sanyu stepped through it.

"Well? Who won?"

Sanyu smiled. "Both sides won."

"…Huh?" Tamorei's ears twitched in confusion. Sanyu explained to Tamorei what had happened. The cat boy's tail twitched curiously once he finished.

"So…that means…"

Sanyu nodded, smiling once more as he showed Tamorei the gems Kotoro gave back. Tamorei's eyes widened and he grinned.

"I don't believe it! They actually gave the gems back to us! Now Nori and Yuri can be saved!!"

Sanyu smiled as the cat boy began jumping from joy, but the smile quickly faded away. "There's just one thing standing in our way."

Tamorei stopped in mid-jump. "What?"

"Our Master."

* * *

"Have you made your decision?"

Kaitsu looked up at the red eyes glaring down at him. A smirk was visible from underneath the hood as the figure looked at the boy's wounds. Kaitsu scowled at the unknown, hatred burning in his eyes.

"I've told you before. I'm staying with the light."

"What has the light ever done for you?" said the unknown. "It's only caused you pain…"

"Shut up!"

A loud clang echoed in the room as the unknown's dark Keyblade shot into the wall, purposely missing Kaitsu by a few inches.

"You _will_ join the darkness, Kaitsu. It says so in the legend."

"You know about the legend?"

"Yes, Kaitsu. In fact, I have the second scroll of the legend, while the King has the first." The unknown pulled out a small scroll and opened it, reading the words aloud. "'_The two sides fight for the one In-Between, and lives of many will burn… Two of one blood will change sides, and the tide will turn… A light born in the darkness, and a darkness born in the light… The sides will change, and the tide will turn._'"

"What does that mean?" asked Kaitsu.

"You of all people should know what it means," responded the unknown. Kaitsu lowered his head in thought. Realization hit him and his eyes widened,

"'_Two of one blood will change sides…_'"

"'…_and the tide will turn,_'" finished the unknown. "That's what the legend says. And it will come true, whether you like it or not."

"If you think I'm going to give up that easily, you're wrong!"

"Darkness has its ways, Kaitsu." The unknown pulled the Keyblade out of the wall, a smile on his face. "And you're about to witness one of its worst."

Removing the glove from his right hand, the unknown placed his hand on Kaitsu's forehead. A searing pain shot through Kaitsu as the unknown began chanting in a native language.

"Etl het nesskrad musenoc uyo… Iveg ni'ot het nesskrad…"

Kaitsu shut his eyes, the pain becoming unbearable. The unknown grinned as a dark aura radiated from his hand and surrounded Kaitsu, his screams echoing throughout the room. The aura shot straight into Kaitsu, forcing another scream out of him. Finally Kaitsu lowered his head and his body became motionless. Smiling, the unknown let go and snapped his fingers, the chains around Kaitsu releasing him. Kaitsu fell onto his knees, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

"There now, that wasn't too hard now was it, Kaitsu?" hissed the unknown. "There really wasn't any need to fight against it; you had to give up sooner or later." Kaitsu remained silent, his face shadowed by the fire of the torches. Ignoring this, the unknown continued, "They will be arriving soon. You will fight them, won't you?"

The unknown's smile widened as Kaitsu slightly nodded his head. "And you will kill them, won't you?" Silence drifted through the room for a few seconds before Kaitsu answered,

"Yes."

"Good. Now, we better get ready. Let's go," said the unknown, opening a portal behind him.

"Yes, Master," muttered Kaitsu, looking up at the unknown. His once blue eyes were now a deep red, and black streaks were visible in his silver hair. He stood up and followed through the portal, ready for the battle soon to come. A battle that will tear both sides apart…

* * *

Me: It would have been longer, but I wanted a cliffhanger! nyaha!

Kotoro: (reads the last part) my god! you evil little monster!

Kaitsu: …

Me: anywho, I might have the next chapter up by tomorrow or the day after. (sigh) It's gona take a while for me to finish this story.

Kaitsu: …

Me: ...And it's also gona take a while for Kaitsu to talk to me again. Since he's a bit upset right now.

Kaitsu: twisted evil psyco… (glare)

Me: um… okaaay… (edges away slowly)

Takari: And now for review replies!

**Kai**- Well, you're supposed to feel bad for Nori and the other unknowns. They aren't really bad, like the evil unknown guy who tortured Kaitsu. They're just…forced to be. Hehe… Anywho, you guessed it right! Both cards were chaos! Great guess!

**Sai-Ryo Auro Feana**- "Passing Shadows"? hmm… (runs off, searches for the story, and reads it) wow, this is a good story. And you're right! Those two chapters are so alike! Freaky… it's like… a sign of the alien pysokinetics who plan on squirrely world domination. …Okay, ignore what I just said. (sweatdrop)

**Ninja Mage**- I made a mistake while I was typing the story. There's 3 cards. 1 Salvation, 2 Chaos. And since you've read from above, none of them had a virus at all! I guess I ticked the other readers off for that useless cliffy… hehe… (mutter) Please don't kill me…

Me: that's all for now!

Kaitsu: … (glare)

Me: um…yeah, well… Read and review! (sweatdrop)

**Merielle**


	18. Betrayal

Me: Sorry for the lack of updates! Curse school…and writer's block. This chapter was hard to write because—(covers mouth) …I better not ruin it for you guys, hehe…

Kaitsu: …

Me: …Kaitsu's still giving me the silent treatment (sweadrop)

Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. How many more times do I have to say this?

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 17—Betrayal

"Kotoro, what's wrong?" asked Kairi. They were half-way through the spiral staircase when Kotoro stopped.

"I've got a bad feeling…" he muttered.

"That's weird. I feel the same way too," said Sora.

"Me too," nodded Riku.

"I don't think this is a coincidence," said Mickey gravely.

"We'd better hurry," said Kotoro, now running up the stairs, the other followed quickly behind him. They finally reached a large black door at the top of the stairs. Silver words were engraved into the door.

"It's a different language," said Riku, trying to read the strange symbols. Kotoro instinctively put his clawed hand over the words, reading the words aloud.

"_Yebond iths orod si het mecharb fo het Krad Noe… Noly het megs fo het Krad Ugradians nac peno htis orod…"_

"What does it mean?" asked Sora.

"I know this language…"

"What?"

"When we were kids, we used to use this language all the time for riddles and games," explained Kotoro. He narrowed his eyes, trying to translate the words aloud.

"'Beyond this door… is the chamber of… the Dark One? …Only the gems of… the Dark Guardians… can open this door…'" It was then that Kotoro noticed four small holes under the words. Pulling out the gems, he placed them one by one into the holes. Once they were in, they stepped back as a faint light surrounded the door. Slowly it opened, its hinges creaking from no use, revealing a dark circular room. The fire of the torches made the room look even more sinister. Their eyes fell upon a figure standing in the center of the room.

"…Kaitsu?" gasped Kotoro, a smile appearing on his face. Mickey frowned slightly.

'_Something's not right…_' he thought.

Kotoro walked forward and stopped a few feet before Kaitsu, smiling as though Christmas came early. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"…Yeah, right."

Kotoro blinked as Kaitsu looked up at him and saw his eyes for the first time since they came in. Instead of a calm blue, they were blood red, burning with pure hatred.

"You never cared about me. All you wanted was just some little lackey to follow you around, listening to everything you say," muttered Kaitsu.

"What're you talking about? We nearly risked our lives to save you!"

"The only life that needs to be saved right now… is yours."

Kotoro jumped back as Kaitsu's Keyblade shot into the ground where he once stood. Pulling it out, he stood once more, glaring at the older boy who was now staring disbelief.

"Kaitsu, what's the matter with you?!"

"Nothing's the matter with me, _dear brother_," said Kaitsu, smiling menacingly.

"So that's it then…" The two turned to Mickey, who had just discovered the truth. He looked up at Kaitsu, a hint of anger in his voice. "I never thought you'd sink so low as to giving up the light, Kaitsu…"

Realization dawned on the others and they stood there, appalled. Kotoro stared at Kaitsu in terror. His dream actually did come true. Kaitsu just smiled and started… laughing. Kotoro blinked. He was _laughing_! His younger brother had just joined the Darkness, tried to stab him, and now he was laughing about it?!

"As much as I would love to continue talking, we should probably end this," said Kaitsu, a sinister smile on his face as he summoned his Keyblade once more.

Before any of them could react, he swung the Keyblade at them in Strike Raid. Goofy pulled out his shield and managed to deflect it before it hit anyone. Kaitsu smirked, glancing to each of them before deciding his first target. Suddenly he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Where'd he go?" exclaimed Donald. Everyone looked around, weapons in hand, but couldn't find him anywhere. Kotoro's ears perked up as he heard a faint creak above them. He looked up at the chandelier above them, but nothing was there. Another creak came from it… and another. Kotoro narrowed his eyes, seeing something glinting between the chains. It was a small dagger, locked between the links. Another creak sounded and the links around the dagger loosened, the chandelier stooping down an inch. He looked down at Donald and Goofy, who were standing right underneath the chandelier. Realization hit him and he shouted,

"Look out!!!"

It was too late. The chains broke and the chandelier fell down upon the two. The others fell to the ground, shielding themselves from the shards and dust that burst throughout the room. The ground shook, then stopped a second later. They stood up and looked at the broken chandelier that impaled itself into the ground. A shield stained with blood was lying beside it, a hand extended beside it from underneath the chandelier.

It took about a minute for the sudden incident to sink in. Donald and Goofy were _dead_. In just five seconds, they were killed, and they couldn't do anything to save them.

"My god…" muttered Kairi, trying her best to hide her tears. Mickey lowered his head in grief while the others just stared in horror at the sight. A small, cold laughter was heard and they turned around to find Kaitsu standing there once more.

"I think I might have overdone it. What a pity," he said.

"You'll pay for this!" shouted Sora. He summoned his Keyblade and charged at Kaitsu without a moment's hesitation. Kaitsu blocked the attack with his own Keyblade, and, with quick speed, he slammed the hilt of the blade into the brunette's stomach. Sora grunted, doubling over at the sudden impact. Kaitsu took this moment and raised his Keyblade over his head, ready to strike.

"Kaitsu stop!"

Kaitsu blinked and looked up at Kotoro, who had grabbed his Keyblade before it could strike. The younger boy's eyes narrowed.

"Let go, otherwise I'll kill you too."

"Go ahead."

A dead silence filled the room. Kaitsu blinked, his glare fading away as the words sunk in. No hint of fear showed in Kotoro's face as he glared at Kaitsu. Was he actually willing to die?

'_What are you waiting for? Kill him._' The cold voice of his Master echoed in Kaitsu's head. He didn't move, but continued staring in disbelief at Kotoro.

"Well? Aren't you going to kill me?" asked Kotoro, noticing his brother's expression. A faint trace of blue was beginning to show in the younger one's eyes.

'_Kill him already!_'

'I…I can't.' Kaitsu took a step back, but a sharp pain pounded in his head.

'_Kill him!!_'

'No!'

'_Kill him!_ _NOW!_'

Out of rage, Kaitsu raised his Keyblade and brought it down at Kotoro. The older boy dodged it and jumped back as Kaitsu attacked him once more, only to have his attack deflected. Kotoro continued to defend himself as Kaitsu blindly slashed at him. Seeing a weak spot, Kaitsu slammed the flat end of the Keyblade into Kotoro's stomach. A sharp pain shot through Kotoro's stomach and he doubled over. His wound from Nori had reopened again. Kaitsu didn't hesitate and raised the Keyblade over Kotoro. The older boy winced, prepared for the blow…

…But it never came.

Kotoro opened his eyes and looked above him. Kaitsu still stood there, holding the Keyblade over his head.

'_KILL HIM YOU FOOL!_'

His hand was shaking and a struggling expression was on his face. The pain in his head was getting worse by the second. Kotoro blinked, wondering why he was hesitating.

Suddenly the Keyblade disappeared from Kaitsu's hand as the boy took a step back. "This isn't over yet…" He muttered before disappearing through a portal. The four ran to Kotoro and helped him back up.

"Cura," whispered Kairi. A green aura surrounded the gash and the pain subsided, but the wound still remained open. They stood their in silence for a few minutes, mourning over the loss of their two friends.

"I don't believe this…" muttered Kotoro. Feelings of guilt, hate, anger, and betrayal washed over him. His own brother had just killed Donald and Goofy and tried to kill him too!

"Kotoro, show me Kaitsu's Balance Sphere," said Mickey. Kotoro blinked but pulled out the orb anyway. Everyone's spirits dropped once they saw what color it was.

The orb was pure black.

"It's too late now," muttered Sora.

"No, it isn't," responded Mickey. The four looked at him confused. "Take a closer look at the orb."

Confused, they looked at the orb once more and noticed something that they didn't see before. Right in the middle of the orb was a small faint glimmer of light.

"What is it?" asked Kairi.

"The darkness in the orb represents Kaitsu as he is now. The small glow shows Kaitsu before he gave in," explained Mickey.

"So that means… that the old Kaitsu is still inside of him?" asked Kotoro. Mickey nodded.

"Exactly, but it's now asleep deep within. We just have to figure out a way to awaken his light before the darkness takes total control…"

They pondered over it for a few seconds. Kotoro closed his eyes, picturing that struggling look on Kaitsu's face when he told him to kill him. A thought struck his head at that moment, and he smiled.

"I think I know a way to get Kaitsu back."

* * *

Me: whew! I finally finished it! Now you know why I had writer's block on this. It was so hard to write the scene where they finally get to Kaitsu and have to fight him.

Kaitsu: …

Me: oh, come on! You're still upset?!

Kaitsu: … (glare)

Ken: Apparently, he is…

Me: oh well… He'll have to speak eventually… right?

Kaitsu: … (holds up Keyblade threateningly)

Me: …uh-oh…

Takari: While Merielle is getting threatened by Kaitsu, read this review replies…

**Ninja Mage**- Horribly maim? (scoots away slowly) …Hmm… The unknown seems to be getting a lot of negative responses… (reads reviews) Oh well, let him get flamed! Hehehe…

**Kai**- Well, yes, that's how I wanted it to go! I just love horrible twists in the stories! …And, who knows? Kaitsu might become good again… …or not… (evil laugh)

**The Keyblade Master**- Yes, school is so evil. I have this stupid science project I have to work on too. (sad sigh) I didn't want Nori to die in the story, so, why not? Let him live! XD

**Mikol**- Kill me?! Gosh, some people are starting to not like me for this… Hmm, well, Nori and the others are going to pay the deed back… Well, you'll see in the next chapters!

**Sai-ryo Aura Feana**- Don't you dare poke Kaitsu! (huggles him) He's mine! XD Anywho… Yeah, poor little Kaitsu. Everyone seems sad that he's evil now, but everyone's happy that Nori and the others live too.

Me: Oh, and here's a little info on the next few chapters! ((_Contains some spoilers!_))

**Nori and the others are revived, and figure out a way to pay Kotoro back. Kaitsu gets punished for not killing Kotoro. Ronin and the Light Guardians try to save Kaitsu. Everyone finds out a horrible secret about the Dark Unknown.**

Me: hehehe… This'll leave you hanging for a while.

Kaitsu: …

Me: okay, now he's scaring me… Anywho, read and review!

**Merielle**


	19. The Truth Revealed

Ken: that's it! We're tired of waiting!

Everyone: (grab me and tie me to a chair)

Me: (blink) what's going on!

Ken: you've been neglecting us for nearly two weeks now!

Me: I'm sorry! I've been way too busy with school project and homework and other stuff…

Ken: No, you were just too lazy!

Me: I'm sorry!

Ken: Quit apologizing and write! Otherwise I'll get Kaitsu to hurt you very badly, since he's wanted to do it all month!

Kaitsu: … (glare)

Me: meep! Okay! Sheesh… Anywho, I'm sorry for the delay everyone, and for this, I've written a longer chapter! Oh, and there's going to be a **really big** surprise in this chapter! And now for the disclaimer!

(cricket cricket)

Me: um… where's Takari?

Ken: he quit. Said something about 'being sick of disclaimers'…

Me: uh… okaaay… Then, I guess Kaitsu will do the disclaimer now!

Kaitsu: Merielle doesn't own Kingdom Hearts. Merielle will die very soon. Merielle will now receive horrible injuries from my Keyblade of doom… (stalks off with Keyblade)

Me: (reads disclaimer) hey, that rhymed! … (suddenly realizes what Kaitsu just said) ………uh-oh…

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 18—The Truth Revealed

"No."

"…Please?"

"I said no!" Sanyu glared at Tamorei, who just sighed exasperatedly.

"Pleeease?" pleaded Tamorei.

"Let's put it this way… Do you _want_ to die?" growled Sanyu.

"But he'll never find out-"

"Find out what?" Both of them jumped as the unknown walked out of the shadows, a frown visible from underneath his hood. It was obvious that he was ticked off at something.

"Uh… nothing! Nothing at all!" said Tamorei. Sanyu slapped his forehead at the younger boy's stupidity.

"There's one thing that is bothering me…" said the unknown. "Those little brats needed the four gems to open the door. If they already opened it, then how come you two are still here?"

The two boys froze at this. The unknown smirked at their panicked expressions. "You gave them duplicates, didn't you?"

"Well… we didn't want anyone to die-"

"That's not a good enough reason!" hissed the unknown, immediately silencing Sanyu.

"Please, Master. We couldn't save Yuri… can we at least let Nori live?" asked Tamorei. The unknown sighed,

"Since I'm in a good mood…I'll let you revive Nori." He turned away, ignoring their happy shouts.

"Where are you going?" asked Sanyu.

"…_Someone_ needs to be punished for not listening to me," hissed the unknown as he disappeared through a portal. The two ignored this and happily ran down the hallway to the infirmary.

* * *

_-Ten years ago…-_

_The four of them ran through the fields, trying to ignore the screams from the village behind them. Flames engulfed the entire village as the people perished inside their own homes. No one had seen the attack coming, except for those four young children. They were the only ones who saw the Heartless approaching the village. They were the only ones who managed to escape in time._

_They now reached the forest and managed to find a small opening in the trunk of a tree. Fortunately, they were all able to hide inside it._

"_W-what do we do now?" asked the blonde girl._

"_We don't have a home to return to now…" muttered the boy with black-blonde hair._

"_They might come after us too," whispered the boy with silver hair._

"_Oh man, we're going to die! We'll all die!" whimpered the blue-haired boy._

"_Be quiet! Something's coming!" hissed the black-haired boy. The sound of rustling leaves met their ears and they froze, trying not to make any sound. The rustling stopped after a few minutes, and then came the sound of footsteps fading away._

"_I think they're gone…" whispered the blue-haired boy. The four slowly stepped out of the hole and looked around. Seeing nothing in sight, they sighed, relieved._

"_We're safe for now…" muttered the black-haired boy. He turned to look at them and noticed the silver-haired boy staring wide-eyed above him. "What's wrong?"_

_The boy didn't respond, but pointing to the tree shakily. They looked at it, eyes widening at what they saw. There on the branches sat ten shadow Heartless, their yellow eyes staring at them hungrily._

"_Run!"_

_They all turned and ran as fast as they could, the shadows chasing right after them. Suddenly one of the Heartless caught up and latched onto the blonde girl's leg. She screamed, falling to the ground as several more Heartless latched onto her._

"_Yuri!" shouted the blue-haired boy. He stopped, ready to run back, but the black-haired boy stopped him._

"_It's too late, Tamorei! Let's go!"_

_They continued running, looking back once more as one of the shadows pulled out a glimmering heart out of the girl. The Heartless didn't waste any time and quickly went after their next targets. Suddenly a Large Body Heartless appeared in front of the three boys, causing them to fall over. It began to swing its arms wildly them. The black-haired and blue-haired boy dropped to the ground, the Heartless' arms narrowly missing them. Unfortunately, the silver-haired boy didn't see the clawed arm swinging towards him._

"_Nori, look out!"_

_A scream echoed through the forest as the shadow's claws made contact with the boy's face. He fell to the ground, blood beginning to trickle down his face. The other two boys quickly helped him up and began running once more. They hid behind a tree as the black-haired boy pulled out a scroll._

"_Defense!" He stuck the scroll onto the tree and a magical shield instantly formed around them. They looked towards Nori, who was covering his face in pain._

"_My eyes! I can't see!" cried the silver-haired boy._

"_Let us see," said the black-haired boy. Nori raised his head and the two gasped. Blood was trickling down his eyes, where the Heartless' claws struck. His eyes were now a faint grey instead of the dark blue they had once been._

"_My god…" muttered Tamorei. They jumped in surprise as several Heartless scratched against the shield, trying to break through._

"_Sanyu, do something!" cried Tamorei. The black-haired boy pulled out another scroll and smacked it onto the shield._

"_Firaga!" Suddenly several balls of flame shot out and hit some Heartless, killing them instantly. Sanyu continued to do this with several other spells like Thunder, Gravity, and Ice. He reached into his pocket once more, but cursed, finding nothing there._

"_I'm all out of scrolls!"_

"_Oh man, we really are going to die…" muttered Nori. The shield began to flicker and the Heartless stood there, ready to attack._

"_Well… we gave it our best shot," said Tamorei. Finally the shield disappeared and the shadows stood there a few seconds before approaching the three. They closed their eyes as the Heartless leapt upon them, tearing them apart as they pulled out three faintly glimmering hearts. Darkness surrounded the bodies and the disappeared, their souls gone with the wind._

_-_

_Darkness…_

_That was the only thing they saw… Nothing else was there…_

_For some reason, they didn't care where they were, or how they got there. Nothing really mattered to them anymore._

_Suddenly a faint glimmer of light appeared. Stepping closer it, they began to hear chanting. They walked closer, the chanting becoming louder as they raised their hand to it. As soon as their hands touched it, a light that nearly blinded them shot throughout the darkness. Screams of shock echoed through the darkness as the blinding light grew, engulfing them in it._

_-_

"_Where… are we?" muttered Tamorei. The four looked around the room. It was a dark circular room, with torches lined along the stone wall._

_Yuri gasped. "You guys! Look at us!"_

_Tamorei and Sanyu looked at themselves and gasped. They were older! It was as though someone had pressed the fast forward on them, and made them into teenagers!_

_Nori blinked, looked down, blinked again, and glared towards where Yuri was supposedly standing. Yuri blinked too and looked at the silver-haired boy confusedly, not understanding what the problem was. Fortunately, Sanyu was able to realize the problem._

"_Yuri, you were killed before us, so you didn't know what happened…" And with that he explained to her what happened to Nori and how they died. The blonde realized her mistake and apologized to Nori, who forgave her._

"_Wait a sec… If we were killed, then how are we alive again?" asked Tamorei._

"_I can answer that for you."_

_All four of them wheeled around at the voice, and there stood a boy in a black trench coat. His face was shadowed by the coat's hood, but glowing red eyes were visible from underneath it._

"_W-Who are you?" asked Yuri._

"…_My name is Yasuko, but you can just refer to me as 'Master."_

"_Hold on a sec!" exclaimed Tamorei. "Just what makes you think you're our master!"_

"_This does," he said, holding up his hand towards the boy. A pain like none other shot throughout him and he began screaming. Falling on his knees, he clutched his chest, the pain becoming nearly unbearable. Suddenly a spasm shot through his head and back, forcing another scream out of him. The unknown known as Yasuko lowered his arm and the burning pain stopped. Tamorei opened his eyes and gasped._

_Blood. There was blood trickling down his head onto the floor. Shakily he raised his hand to touch the wound on his head, but instead of a bloody gash he felt something… fuzzy._

"_W-What the hell…?" He looked at the others, who were staring at him wide-eyed. "…What?"_

"_You… have a tail…" muttered Sanyu, pointing behind him. Tamorei looked there and saw a cat tail, speckles of blood on some parts of its blue fur. He gasped and pulled at the fuzzy object on his head and realized that they were…cat ears!_

"_What the hell did you do to me!" he screamed, not at all caring if he was too loud._

"_I was just having some fun. Look on the bright side, at least now you're a cat demon." …Cat demon! That freak just turned him into a cat! Yasuko smirked and turned to the other three. "Let this be a lesson to you. Never object to me."_

"_Why shouldn't we?" retorted Sanyu._

"_Because if you do…" The unknown raised his hand and formed it into a fist. Sanyu immediately fell onto his knees, clutching his chest in pain. "…You will die."_

"_Stop! Please don't hurt them!" cried Yuri. Yasuko let go and smiled as Sanyu staggered up._

"_Keep this in mind. If you do not obey me, you will suffer greatly. Now, I bet you are probably wondering why you are here." Yasuko looked towards them and continued. "As you remember correctly, you four were killed in a heartless invasion on your world. Ten years have passed since then, and now I have resurrected you from the dead. Even though your hearts were taken from the Heartless, I have created artificial hearts for your bodies, and inserted a gem in each one of you. That gem will keep you alive as long as it is not taken out. In return for my kind deed, you four will be servants to the darkness and obey my every command. If you reject my offer, I'll be glad enough to put you back in your grave…"_

_The four stared at him, the words sinking in. They were dead for ten years? The time seemed so short when they were dead… And now this? They have to join the darkness to live? Everything seemed to go past them like a hurricane. It was all moving too fast. But… if this was the only way they could live…_

"…_We accept," muttered Sanyu, the others agreeing with him. Yasuko smiled menacingly._

"_Very well."_

* * *

"Hey Sanyu, I think he's waking up!"

…_Who's there?_

"Nori? Nori, are you okay?"

…_Sanyu? Tamorei…?_

"Nori, can you hear me?"

"…Y-yes," grunted Nori, hearing Sanyu and Tamorei shout in glee. He sat up in bed and looked towards his left, where the voices were coming from. "What happened?"

"That Kotoro guy pulled out your gem, remember?" said Sanyu. "I challenged him to a game for the gems, but I lost. Strangely, he gave the gems back to me and now you can live!"

Nori blinked. The same person who had tried to kill Nori now saved him? This was… great. A smile spread across Nori's face as the two continued to cheer.

"You know, that was awful nice of him to give it back," said Tamorei. "We should pay back the deed, ne?"

"Yeah, we should. And I've got the perfect idea…"

* * *

Footsteps echoed throughout the room as the unknown walked through it, his eyes falling upon a shadowed figure standing across him.

"You disobeyed me, Kaitsu. Would you care to explain why?" hissed the unknown. The boy lowered his head and remained silent.

"Do you still have feelings for that monster you call your brother?"

"…"

"Answer me!"

"…No, I don't."

"That's what I thought. Now, you had better kill him the next time you meet… otherwise…" The unknown paused and pulled out half of Kotoro's heart. "…_I_ will kill him myself."

"Yes, master…"

The unknown turned and left through a portal. Kaitsu stood there for a few seconds before falling onto his knees, holding back the tears that threatened to escape. Here he was, thinking the darkness would make everything easier for him… but it only made it worse…

* * *

Kotoro looked up as they approached the next door. They might have to face Kaitsu again… What would happen then? They were close to killing each other the last time they met. What would happen now? He was snapped out of his thoughts by Mickey's voice.

"Okay, everyone… remember the plan. Are you ready?"

They all nodded and pushed open the door, revealing a door similar to the one before. Stone walls, hanging shackles, and several lit torches on the wall. But Kaitsu was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there in the center of the room stood a hooded unknown. It was the same unknown who had taken Kaitsu and turned him to the darkness.

"Welcome everyone," smiled the unknown. "I am glad to see you have made it this far."

"Quit fooling around! Who exactly are you and what have you done to Kaitsu!" shouted Kotoro. Yasuko turned to Kotoro, his red eyes gleaming.

"Oh, how foolish of me. I really should introduce myself. My name is Yasuko. I truly am glad to finally meet my creator…"

"_What_!"

"Oh? You never knew?"

"Yasuko! Don't tell them!" spat Mickey. "They shouldn't know!"

"Come now, Mickey. It's about time they know the truth…" smiled Yasuko. He raised his hand and pulled down his hood, revealing his face to them. Horror struck them and they gasped.

He looked _just like Kaitsu_! His silver hair was the same length, his facial structure, everything! The only difference was his piercing red eyes. If it wasn't for the eyes, he would've been mistaken for Kaitsu.

"You look just like him…" muttered Kotoro.

"That's because I _am_ him."

"What? What are you talking about?" asked Sora. Yasuko smiled in that evil way and said,

"I am Kaitsu's _other self_."

* * *

Everyone: (gasp!)

Ken: whoa… big surprise there…

Kaitsu: …

Ken: …Kaitsu doesn't seem happy about this… (scoots away)

Me: um… hey, Kaitsu, no hard feelings, right?

Kaitsu: …first you make me evil… and now _you give me an evil twin_! (death glares)

Me: meep! (hides under chair) I wanted a plot twist! I'm sorry!

Kaitsu: oh, you _will_ be sorry… (summons Keyblade)

Me: uh-oh…

Ken: um… Read these review replies while Merielle gets horribly injured by Kaitsu… (screaming comes from other side of room) dear god…

**Ninja Mage**- Hm… Lots of "poor" people around here… The Donald and Goofy thing was a spur-of-the-moment idea (as you put it). They didn't have any special role so… heck, just get rid of them. There's going to be more of that type of stuff soon…

**The Keyblade Master**- I love doing plot twists. It surprises the readers and it can be very confusing sometimes… hehe…

**angelfrie**- If you kill me, there will be no more stories. And I'll sue you. hehe.. (sweatdrop) No worries… Kaitsu'll get better soon. I hope. …I think… (sweatdrop)

**Kai**- Wow. Everyone's saying Kaitsu has to be good. …never! Hahaha… ha… um, yeah… (sweatdrop) and no, Kotoro won't become evil. He has a special plan. Hehe..

**Sai-ryo Aura Feana**- hehe… that's a funny RP… (sweatdrop)

Me: (runs back wearing several bandages and a cast on her right arm) ouchies… (sees Kaitsu come back) GAH! (runs off)

Kaitsu: (runs after me with Keyblade) GET BACK HERE!

Ken: (sits on chair with popcorn) Don't forget to read and review. Meanwhile, I'll just sit here and watch Merielle get horribly injured by Kaitsu… hehe…

**Merielle**


	20. Explanations

Me: (runs in panting) I am SO sorry everyone! Please forgive me! I had tons of homework and exams…

Ken: (notices something behind Merielle) Um… Merielle…

Me: And then there was that stupid writer's curse…

Ken: (backs away) Merielle…

Me: Geez… I really need to get my priorities straight! I hope you guys aren't too mad—

Ken: Merielle!

Me: What?

Ken: … (points behind her)

Me: (turns around, and sees a huge mob of angry readers) !…OH, SH—(The rest is muffled by the trampling of the angry readers)

Ken: um… Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. But she will own a huge life insurance bill after this… (walks away quietly)

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 19—Explanations

"His…what?" Kotoro's words echoed throughout the room as the four stared at him in disbelief. Yasuko just smiled,

"I guess the mouse didn't tell you, did he? Heh, he always did like to keep secrets to himself." The unknown's gaze turned to Mickey, who lowered his head.

"I didn't want them to have this burden, Yasuko," replied Mickey.

"Well, it's about time they know." Yasuko turned to the four, his insane smile sickening them. "Kotoro, do you remember that day when the Heartless invaded your world? The day when Kaitsu received his Keyblade and was sent to Kingdom Hearts?"

Kotoro didn't reply, but just nodded as the memory replayed in his mind.

* * *

"_What do we do? There's too many of them!"_

_There were Heartless everywhere, cornering the two boys in the room. Piercing yellow eyes looked upon them, ready to attack. Kotoro's defense shield began to wear down and the Heartless began to approach them. At last, the shield flickered away. One shadow Heartless took this opportunity and leapt at Kaitsu, its claws shooting into the younger boy's chest._

_Suddenly a light shot out of Kaitsu's chest, throwing back the shadow, and engulfed the room. When the blinding light faded away, there was a strange key-shaped weapon in the boy's hand._

"_W-What is this?" he muttered. Suddenly a large beam out of nowhere shot at the Heartless, instantly killing them. The two looked up and saw a hooded figure standing in the doorway. _

"_Who are you?" Kotoro stood in front of Kaitsu in defense._

"_Don't worry. I am not against you," said the unknown. "My name is Ronin."_

"_Why are you here?" asked Kaitsu._

"_I am here for you two. That weapon in your hand--" He pointed to the key-shaped weapon, "—is a Keyblade. It is a weapon meant to protect or destroy other worlds. In your case, it is to protect Kingdom Hearts. It is difficult to explain, but you are now officially the Keeper of Kingdom Hearts. Your duty is to protect it from the forces of Darkness."_

_Kaitsu blinked, the explanation sinking in. "So… where is 'Kingdom Hearts?'"_

"_Come with me, and I'll show you," replied Ronin, extending his hand out to them. The brothers didn't even think twice about the circumstances as they took Ronin's hand, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

_

"What does that have to do with you?" asked Kotoro, looking back up at Yasuko.

"Everything," he replied. "Don't you remember the Heartless that attacked Kaitsu before the Keyblade appeared in his hand?"

"Yeah, so?"

"…You really are dense, aren't you?" sighed Yasuko. "Alright then, I'll tell you what happened after you two disappeared…"

* * *

_The Heartless crawled out from under the rubble and examined the area, but found no one in sight. It looked down at the tiny crystal shard in its hands. If a Heartless had a mouth, this one would have been grinning like mad._

_It quickly ran a few feet away from the remains of the town. Looking around, it grabbed a stick and began scratching in something around the shard. After a few minutes, the shadow threw the stick aside and looked at the symbol it had now carved in. It placed the shard in the center of the encryption and stepped back as the shard, along with the symbol, began to glow._

_Soon enough, a dark cloud engulfed the shard and began to grow into the shape of a human. Two red eyes appeared in the smoke, causing the Heartless to jump back. The figure stepped out of the smoke, revealing a young boy wearing a cloak. Red eyes were the only thing visible from underneath the hood. He looked down upon the Heartless._

"_Are you one who awakened me?"_

_The Heartless nodded, jumping up and down. The boy knelt down and petted its head. The shadow purred happily, content to know its work was at last completed. The boy stopped petting it, and the shadow looked up…_

…_only to have a dagger stabbed into it._

_The shadow screeched in pain as it slowly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Smirking, the boy stood back up, examining the land around him. He walked forward, not at all taking notice to the plants that instantly withered below his feet as he moved past them. He looked up at the night sky, a menacing grin and glowing eyes visible from underneath the hood._

"_It begins now…"

* * *

_

"Maybe if you had taken better care of your brother, I might not have been born," finished Yasuko. He watched as Kotoro's expression turned to confusion and fear.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you see? If you had jumped in to save him, instead of just standing there, maybe none of this would have happened." Yasuko pointed an accusing finger at Kotoro. "It's all your fault."

"No it isn't…"

"Because of you I exist."

"No! Shut up!"

"Because of you, your brother is suffering."

"Shut up!" In a wave of fury, Kotoro charged at Yasuko and slashed at him with his claws. Yasuko was quick enough to evade the attack and jumped back. Kotoro attacked again, but missed once more. After awhile, Yasuko sent a wave of dark energy at Kotoro, sending him back a few feet.

"I think that's enough time for you to vent your anger," mocked Yasuko. Kotoro growled and jumped at him once more. And just like before, Yasuko sent him flying back to the ground.

"Kotoro, stop this right now!" shouted Mickey.

"He's right, you're not strong enough," said Kairi. Kotoro stood back up and glared at Yasuko.

"They're right Kotoro. You should stop wasting your energy. You _are_ weak after all…" As soon as the words escaped, Kotoro charged at Yasuko in flying fury. Yasuko jumped to the side as Kotoro skidded past and stopped. They stood still for what seemed to be forever. Suddenly a thin red line appeared over Yasuko's cheek. He reached up and touched the cut as small drops of blood fell.

'_Impossible…_' thought Yasuko, eyes darting back up at Kotoro. '_I had my shield up the entire time. He couldn't have broken through…_'

"Don't get too proud of this," hissed Yasuko. A portal opened behind him as he walked into it. Not satisfied with just that one hit, Kotoro lunged at him again, but not in time. The portal closed before he could reach it.

They stood in silence for a few minutes before Kotoro turned towards Mickey.

"Why didn't you tell us this?"

"As I've said before, I didn't want you to have this burden--"

"Burden! I just found out that that freak spawned from my brother! This anything _but_ a burden! And it's all my fault!"

"Don't listen to what that jerk told you," remarked Kairi.

"But he's right. Kaitsu's suffering right now and it's my fault…" Kotoro began walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Riku.

"I'm going to keep searching," replied Kotoro.

"But we've already searched every floor," replied Sora.

"I don't care. Kaitsu _has_ to be somewhere in this messed up place." He made to open the door before Mickey spoke up.

"I'm sorry for not telling you this sooner."

"Yeah, well, it's too late to apologize now." Kotoro opened the door and walked off, leaving the others behind.

* * *

"Guardians!"

A portal appeared as Sanyu, Tamorei, and Nori climbed out from it and knelt down in front of Yasuko.

"You called, sir?" spoke Sanyu.

"Which one of you did it?"

"What?"

"_Don't_ act dumb with me! Somebody destroyed my shield!" hissed Yasuko, who was now really ticked off. "Seeing as you three are the only ones who know how to renew and destroy the shield…"

"You think we did it?" finished Tamorei.

"We'd never do that to you, especially during a battle. We swear," said Nori.

"Then who…" Yasuko trailed off and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. "…Sanyu?"

"Yes?"

"Where is Kaitsu?"

"He's in the tower, sir. Why do you ask?"

Yasuko said nothing but continued to stare at the ceiling. He narrowed his eyes and said,

"Someone else is up there with him…"

* * *

'_I hate this job. I hate this job. I. Hate. It_,' thought Takari… who was currently hanging out of the tower window. He had walked in disguised as a squirrel and had an… unfortunate meeting with Kaitsu again. This time he was close to being stabbed by the Keyblade.

'_Geez, that boy seriously hates squirrels…_' Takari managed to get a good grip on the window by now, and began climbing back in. Before he fell in, he managed to transform back into a squirrel again.

"…Who's there?"

Squirrel Takari looked up and saw Kaitsu sitting in a corner. Glowing red eyes darted down and looked at the squirrel.

"You again…" He narrowed his eyes as the squirrel waved sheepishly. "I thought I told you to never come back here."

The squirrel paid no attention to this and scuttled closer. Kaitsu summoned his Keyblade, glaring down at the squirrel.

"Don't come any closer."

The squirrel just chittered and came up to his feet and looked up at the boy, taking notice of his red eyes. '_This is bad…_'

Before the squirrel could scuttle back out, Kaitsu's Keyblade came crashing down on it, barely missing it by a few inches. The squirrel jumped back and ran towards the window. Kaitsu stood up and pulled out his Keyblade from the ground.

"I'll make sure you don't come back here," muttered Kaitsu. The squirrel reached the window and looked back, only to see whirl of metal hurling towards him.

_Clang._

"…What is going on here?"

Kaitsu froze and looked towards the door, seeing Yasuko standing there.

"Nothing. I was just taking care of… a problem."

Yasuko nodded. "Have you seen anyone else in this room?"

"…No, sir."

"Alright then." Yasuko turned and walked back out. Kaitsu sighed and looked back at where the squirrel was…

…and jumped back screaming.

"You… you little… brat…" muttered Takari, crouching on the window sill. Blood was dripping from his left arm.

"…Takari?" muttered Kaitsu, recognizing the ticked off boy.

"Yeah, it's me," Takari grinned at him. Suddenly Kaitsu pulled out the Keyblade and pointed it straight at Takari.

"Get out."

Before he could react, Kaitsu shot a fire spell straight at Takari. He jumped back, his foot slipping on the edge of the window.

"Ah!" Takari managed to grab the side of the window before falling. Looking down, he saw several trees. The fall would be pretty painful…

He looked back up at Kaitsu, who pointed the Keyblade at him again.

"I don't want any of you to come near this place. I've already suffered enough."

"Kaitsu, you don't understand! We're trying to help you!"

"I don't need help." He aimed and shot another fireball at Takari, causing him to let go. He watched as the guardian fell down several feet into the forest below. A smile spread across his face,

"One down, four more to go…"

* * *

Me: Done! Geez, writer's block is seriously not good. On another note… Adelphia's being really annoying to me right now, and now I'm not able to see my e-mail. Hopefully I'll get this fixed and answer your review replies as soon as possible!

Takari: you killed me!

Me: Don't jump to conclusions!

Takari: but… I fell… and…

Me: As I've said before, don't jump to conclusions.

Takari: …

Me: Anywho, please read and review. I'll be updating more often now since my writer's block is gone. Ja!

**Merielle**


	21. Plans

Me: I'm officially back to writing.

Ken: (waves flag) woop-de-doo…

Me: And to friends who've been freaking out about the previous chapter… No. Takari did _not_ die. He just… got horrible injured.

Takari: Hm. I should probably kill you for that…

Me: (summons staff) …Just hurry up and do the disclaimer.

Takari: (sigh) Merielle doesn't own Kingdom Hearts. I'm tired of saying this.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment

Chapter 20—Plans

"He has to be here somewhere around here," assured Ryu.

"Maybe he's…" Seika trailed off, afraid to say it.

"No," answered Ken. "I can still sense him."

Just a few minutes ago they had heard a scream and saw Takari falling from the tower. Now they were searching in the forest for him.

"Hey, I see something!" Seika pointed to a figure lying on the ground. She ran up to it, recognizing it as Takari. The others followed and helped turn him on his back. They gasped at what they saw.

Blood was dripping from his left arm, and his face was scratched from the tree branches above. His coat was burnt and torn up.

"My god…" muttered Ryu.

"Takari, wake up!" Seika shook him by the shoulders. "Please wake up!"

"Dammit, quit shaking my arm," groaned Takari, opening his eyes to look at them. They sighed in relief.

"Geez, what happened to you?" asked Ryu.

"Kaitsu freaked out again. This time he was close to stabbing me. I… got angry and transformed back--"

"You idiot!" shouted Ken.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have changed back," said Takari. "Once he found out, he attacked me and I fell out the window."

"Did you find out anything new? What about Kaitsu?" asked Seika as she began to heal Takari's wounds with 'Cure'.

"…He's joined their side." The others froze at this.

"I don't believe this…" muttered Ken.

"No offence, Ken, but your plans aren't working at all," remarked Ryu.

"Then I guess we'll try something new…"

"What's that?" asked Seika.

"We'll go by force."

* * *

Kotoro continued walking, not bothering to look back. After a while he stopped walking and looked around the dark hallway. Lucky for him, his eyes allowed him to see through the darkness.

Maybe he should go back… Kotoro shook the thought out of his mind and proceeded to walk on, but stopped at the sounds of footsteps. Acting quickly, he changed into a Heartless and hid in the shadows. The footsteps became louder as three figures approached. It was the Dark Guardians.

"They have to be here somewhere," said Sanyu.

"Do you think they'll accept the offer?" asked Tamorei.

"They have to. It's the only way."

They continued walking and passed Kotoro. He sighed, but tensed again when Nori stopped.

"What is it?" asked Tamorei.

"Something's here," muttered Nori. He walked back a few steps and looked in the direction Kotoro was hiding.

"…I don't see anything," said Tamorei, squinting through the darkness of the hallway.

"It's because you can't," said Sanyu. "You have to sense it."

Nori kneeled down and reached out his hand. It was just a few inches from the Heartless when he stopped.

'This is _not_ good.' thought Kotoro as he edged away from the hand. Unfortunately, he made a soft tap as he moved next to a rock. Nori's hand instantly shot out and latches at the shadow's back.

"…What is this?" asked Nori. He stood up and held out Kotoro to the other two.

"It's… a Heartless," said Sanyu. "Whatever. It's not that important."

'_What? I'm not important enough for you freaks!_' Kotoro began struggling in Nori's grasp, shouting other obscenities at them through his mind.

He froze once he realized the others were staring at him.

"What did you call us?" growled Tamorei.

'_Wha… you can hear me?_'

"Of course we can hear you, _Kotoro_," replied Nori, letting go of the Heartless. The shadow landed softly on the ground and changed back into his human form.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"None of the Heartless around here can talk," answered Tamorei. "They're not that smart."

"Now, onto other business…" began Sanyu, eyeing the half-Heartless.

"Um, before you do anything, I'd like to say…" Kotoro went down on his knees and clasped his hands together. "Please don't kill me! Please!"

"We're not going to kill you," remarked Sanyu, earning a confused look from Kotoro.

"Actually, we need your help."

* * *

"…No way."

"Takari, you have to."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"_No._"

Seika sighed and looked over at Ryu with pleading eyes. He just shook his head.

"Sorry, can't help you there."

"Gee, thanks a lot," muttered Seika. Just a few minutes ago they had agreed on sneaking into the castle and trying to find a way to help the Kotoro and the others out. Unfortunately, Takari vowed that he would never go back into the castle.

"Ken, help us out here!" She looked over at Ken, who was currently trying to break the seal of the shield on the door.

"Why should I?"

"Because…. I said so."

"…That's not a good enough reason."

"Yes it is!"

"I don't have time for this…" muttered Ken, turning back to the seal.

"Cynical little piece of shit, isn't he?" grinned Ryu. In the next second he was flat on the ground, a slightly large bump on his head from the rock Ken threw. By now, Ken had already opened the door.

"Takari, you're coming along with us, whether you like it or not," said Ken, watching Seika poke the currently unconscious Ryu with a stick.

"I don't want to go in there."

"You're coming along."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No. And there's nothing you can do to make me."

Ken looked over at Takari. If looks could kill, Takari would probably be screaming and twitching on the floor by now. Fortunately, he had gotten used to the usual death-glare by now. What he didn't expect was what Ken said next.

"If you don't, I'm going to tell Ronin about that one time you talked in your sleep and said--"

"OKAY! Who wants to go in the creepy castle first? I'm going, for sure!" Takari forced a nervous smile on and walked past them into the castle. Seika and Ryu looked curiously at Ken, who just smirked and walked in.

* * *

"You want my help? Why should I listen to you?" exclaimed Kotoro.

"Be quiet!" hissed Sanyu, looking around to make sure Yasuko wasn't by chance there. "Since you gave the gems back to us, we're willing to pay back the deed."

"Besides, you want your brother back, right?" said Tamorei. Kotoro nodded.

"Good. Go find your friends and bring them back to this spot. We'll take you guys to where Yasuko's keeping Kaitsu."

"One question… I know you aren't doing this just because I gave back the gems. What's your real reason?"

"Because…" Sanyu stopped, eyes widening. A sudden chill swept throughout the entire hallway. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" asked Kotoro.

"…He's escaped."

"What? Who?"

"Your brother! He's escaped from the tower!"

* * *

"Where could he be?" asked Sora, looking around the hall.

"He has to be here somewhere," replied Riku. "He couldn't have gotten far."

"I hope he didn't run into anything…" muttered Kairi.

"Don't worry, you three, he'll be just fine," said Mickey. "Besides, we need to be careful too. Who knows what could happen in a castle like this…"

They nodded and continued walking, not at all aware of the two red eyes watching them in the shadows.

* * *

Me: phew. Another chapter finished. I'll be updating more often now that school's coming to an end. Yes, you're all going to be in for a big surprise in the next chapter. Hm. I'm not sure how long this story's gona last...

Takari: And now for more review replies.

**Ninja Mage**- Yasuko will become much more evil in future chapters. Heheh….

**The Keyblade Master**- Thanks much. Heh, every writer has a type of block.

**Supergrl26**- Yeah, school always gets hectic at the end of the year. And as for the shard, it's a very, very tiny piece of Kaitsu's heart. Actually, it's the darkness of his heart.

Me: Hm… There's one more review… (reads it) …um, I don't need to read this one aloud—

Takari: What's it say? (takes it and reads it) Hm… It's from someone named **Mikol**. (continues reading) …… (looks at Merielle with evil grin)

Me: um… now, now, Takari, no need to be grinning evilly.

Kaitsu: (summons Keyblade)

Me: ….uh-oh…

Takari: Thanks much for the idea, Mikol!

Ken: Please review while Takari and Kaitsu have their violent revenge on Merielle.

**Merielle**


	22. Surprise

Me: ((comes in on a wheelchair)) Another chapter! Not much to say here. There's going to be a _little_ twist in this chapter. Most of you'll probably hate me (or bow down to me) for this.

Seika: (stares at the wheelchair and arm cast) what happened to you?

Me: Takari and Kaitsu actually took the advice of that one reviewer. (mumbleStupidKeybladesmumble) Anywho, enjoy the chapter!

Takari: Merielle doesn't own Kingdom Hearts. Readers don't sue.

* * *

Destiny's Punishment  
Chapter 21—Jumping to Conclusions

This was a very difficult decision. Mickey looked up at the three separate halls that formed at the end of their path. At last, he sighed and pointed at the center one.

"Sora, you can go through that one," said Mickey. "Riku, go right. And Kairi, go left."

"Where are you going to go?" asked Sora, walking towards the center hallway.

"I'm going to go back and look for another way."

The others nodded and went their separate ways.

* * *

"This is bad. Really bad," muttered Tamorei. 

"Where is he right now?" asked Kotoro, his tone becoming worried.

"I'm not sure," muttered Sanyu. "Nori, see if you can sense him anywhere in the castle."

Nori closed his eyes, concentrating on the air around him. He could hear the footsteps of Sora and the others a floor below. Concentrating harder, the sound of a lock opening and faint whispers came to his ears.

"I hear someone coming in from the first floor…"

"We can deal with that later. Just concentrate on finding Kaitsu."

Nori nodded and tried again. This time he was able to sense something else with Sora and the others. He heard their footsteps separating. Confusion etched on his face as he heard an extra pair of footsteps going down on of the hallways. Suddenly a clang was heard…

…And a scream echoed throughout the entire hallway.

The others froze, for they had heard it too.

"He attacked one of your friends," warned Nori.

"Oh no…" Immediately, all four of them ran down the hallway to where the scream came from.

* * *

"N-no…please…" 

Kaitsu glared down at the limp body as it struggled to move away, and failed to do so. His eyes followed the blood as it dripped slowly to the ground and seeped through the cracks in the stoned floor.

"This is the only way I can be at peace," he hissed, raising the Keyblade. "Now die." And the blade came crashing down…

* * *

"We can't be too far now," said Sanyu as they approached the spot where they heard the scream. They all gasped at the sight they saw. 

There lay a figure in a pool of blood. Several scar and stabs were all over its body. Kotoro knelt down and turned over the body. It was… Kairi.

"My god…"

They looked up at the sounds of footsteps approaching and saw Sora and Riku appear down the hallway.

"Kairi, what's going on? We heard a scream and--"

They immediately stopped at the sight of Kairi's lifeless body. "…Wha…Kairi…"

"I don't believe this…" muttered Riku.

"Kairi…No…" Sora continued staring at her, trying to understand what had just happened. He looked over at Kotoro, who was holding Kairi, blood covering his cloak. His eyes darted towards the Dark Guardians a few feet away. Immediately, Sora jumped to a conclusion.

"You killed her…"

"What? No, I didn't." Kotoro looked up at him in shock.

"Yes you did! You've joined the Dark Guardians and now you killed Kairi!"

"Sora, you don't understand--"

"Traitor!" Keyblade in hand, Sora lunged straight at Kotoro, who jumped back quickly. Kotoro winced as the Keyblade made contact with his arm and stumbled back a few steps.

"Get back." Sanyu stepped in front of him and pulled out a card. "Wind!" Immediately a strong gust of wind blew at Sora and Riku, sending them back a few feet. The two stood back up, only to find them gone.

* * *

A portal tore open in the middle of the room and out came Kotoro and the Dark Guardians. Kotoro sighed and sat down on the ground, trying to calm down his confused mind. 

"What a mess…"

"Why the hell did they do that? We did nothing wrong!" protested Tamorei.

"They were confused and afraid. Instead of being reasonable, they jumped to a conclusion," explained Nori. "Fear can do that to people."

"We don't have time to worry about this," said Sanyu. "What's happened has happened. There's nothing we can do about it."

"You're right," said Kotoro, standing back up. "We'd better find Kaitsu before things get worse."

"We should… but first thing's first." Sanyu turned to Nori. "We'd better see who it was that came in uninvited."

* * *

"We're going to die." 

"No, we aren't. Calm down and shut up," hissed Ken, looking back at Takari.

"We're going to die and you're telling me to calm down!"

"Don't worry, Takari," said Seika. "As long as there's no shadowy figure stalking us, we'll be just fine."

"If there was a figure stalking us, it would have already attacked us!"

Just as he finished, a piece of metal slammed straight into his back, causing him to keel over. The others turned around and saw Kaitsu standing there.

"Wow! Someone _really_ was stalking us!" gasped Seika, completely oblivious to the situation. Takari stood back up, rubbing his back in pain.

"So, you're still alive," muttered Kaitsu, looking at Takari. "And you even brought your friends along this time."

"Kaitsu, you don't understand. You're making a big mistake!" protested Ken.

"Why won't you all just leave me _alone_!" In his fury, Kaitsu slashed at Ken, only to have it evaded. Seika jumped in and threw several fire spells at him. Kaitsu raised his Keyblade and started spinning it in a circle, quickly diminishing the balls of fire.

"He's too strong to fight," said Ken. "We have to figure out another way to stop him."

"Leave that to me!" assured Ryu. He pulled out a deck of cards and brought up the first one. It showed a figure and several shadows of the same figure on it. "Duplicate!" The card began to glow and suddenly multiple images of Ryu appeared around Kaitsu.

"Find me if you can!" teased Ryu. Kaitsu looked among the images, trying to ignore the echoes of laughter. Several seconds passed, but he still couldn't find the real one. Kaitsu smirked, and suddenly, he disappeared. The multiple images faded away as Ryu looked around.

"What's the matter, Kaitsu? Are you scared? Come out and fight—" But Ryu was cut off as he felt something sharp pierce into his back. He looked behind himself and saw Kaitsu standing there, Keyblade in hand. He instantly pulled the blade out, watching Ryu fall unconscious to the floor.

"Ryu!" screamed Seika. She ran towards the boy and put up a shield around them before Kaitsu could strike again. Ken and Takari stepped forward, ready to attack, but heard several footsteps approaching. They looked behind them and saw Kotoro and the Dark Guardians running towards them.

"What are you doing here!" demanded Sanyu, shooting a glare at the Light Guardians.

"We're here to save Kaitsu. What are _you_ doing here?" asked Ken.

"Exactly what you're doing," he replied. Kotoro stepped forward, glaring at Kaitsu.

"Kaitsu, stop this! Why are you doing this!"

"This is the only way I can be at peace," hissed Kaitsu, eyes narrowing.

"Just look at what you're doing! You killed Donald, Goofy, and Kairi! You're hurting your friends!" shouted Kotoro. Kaitsu blinked and took a step back at these words. Kotoro gestured at Ryu, who had a gash in his back. "Do you really think _that_ is going to bring you peace?"

"Sh…shut up!" Kaitsu swung the Keyblade at him, only to have it deflected by the older boy's claws.

"We're only trying to help you!"

"I don't need any help!" This continued on for several minutes, neither of them able to land a blow on the other.

Suddenly Kotoro stopped as a sharp spasm was felt in his chest. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest as the pain grew. Kaitsu blinked and stepped back.

'_Yasuko, what are you doing!_'

'_Go back to the tower. Now. We'll deal with them later._'

A portal appeared behind Kaitsu and he disappeared through it. Kotoro blinked as the pain immediately stopped, and stood back up.

"Damn, he got away," said Takari.

"Ryu, please wake up," said Seika as she shook Ryu's shoulder. He groaned and opened his eyes, trying to focus. He sat up and flinched as he felt the pain in his back. "You shouldn't get up yet," warned Seika.

"I'm fine… It's no big deal," he said. He winced when he saw the gash in his back.

"Idiot. You should've paid more attention," said Ken as Seika began casting 'cure' on the wound. Suddenly a whisper echoed through the hall, causing the others to jump.

"_Traitors…_"

They instantly recognized the voice as Yasuko. Sanyu, Tamorei, and Nori lowered their heads, knowing that he was referring to them.

"_You three will pay for defying me…_"

The voice slowly faded away at the last words. Sanyu cursed under his breath and sighed. "Well, so much for our second chance…"

* * *

Me: I don't know whether you guys love me or hate me for killing Kairi. The big twist might add to the 'angry mob' effect. At first I just wanted to kill Kairi very bluntly… but them my twisted mind decided 'aw, what the heck. Let there be a twist!' ……I'm gona get killed for this… 

Ken: Well, you're lucky you let Ryu live…

Me: yeah. One death and twist is enough for this chapter. (prepares herself for flames and angry mobs)

Takari: And now for review replies…

**Gibby**- Glad to see you like the story!

**Mediciner**- (le gasp!) The great Med has graced her presence! XD I just like adding comedy to make readers happy once in a while. Too much angst is….ick.

**Mikol**- No, apparently I don't XD Sorry for taking so long.

**purplish111**- Thanks! (glomp) 'Tis much appreciated!

Me: That's all for now! Read and review!

**Merielle**


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